


The Terran Variable

by PinoyGamer117



Series: Star Wars: The Guardians of the Force [1]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Loads of characters, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, POV Multiple, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:55:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27499780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinoyGamer117/pseuds/PinoyGamer117
Summary: The Spirit of Fire spent five years in hell before going on a one-way mission to save humanity from utter destruction. Through their hidden sacrifice, they bought their fellow humans almost 30 years to win the war against the Covenant.But their fight was not yet over - not by a long shot. Finding themselves in a whole new galaxy, one filled with potential allies and unknown dangers, James Cutter must safely navigate this new frontier and bring his family home.By any means necessary.
Series: Star Wars: The Guardians of the Force [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009689
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	1. ACT 1 | Part 1: Unintended Discoveries (September 2560 | 33 BBY)

Disclaimer: _ I don't own Halo Universe as well as the Star Wars Universe. _

Timeline

2553 AD

\- March

A monument is erected in the Kenyan Savannah near Mount Kilimanjaro to officially mark the end of the Human-Covenant war, and in remembrance of those who gave their lives in the war – including posthumously promoted Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John-117 who is labeled MIA. The land around the memorial is left barren to remind humanity of all the sacrifices it had to give in order to survive. 

United Nations Space Command begins transferring power back to the United Earth Government now that the war is over, though they remain on high alert to mop up any remnants of the Covenant. Arbiter Thel 'Vadam temporarily heads the provisional government of the Separatist Covenant. 

\- May

UEG and Covenant Separatist (now called Coalition of Allied Species) sign the Milky Way Treaty on Mount Kilimanjaro to signify helping each other make the universe become a peaceful place. This marks the long process of recovery as most humans remain distrustful of the CAS. 

\- June

Operation Rebuild Earth is launched by UEG to rebuild Earth. UEG also discovers out of the 800 planets they have, only about 90 or so were glassed before the invasion of Earth. UEG (along with the help of the CAS) then launches Operation Seedling to recolonize all its glassed planets, but remarks that the progress is expected to be slow.

2554 AD

\- January

[CONFIDENTIAL] After much deliberation, UEG approves the funding for a second Infinity-class warship (code named Everlasting) right after the success of the first's mission. The Interplanetary Scientific and Engineering Commission theorizes that  _ UNSC Everlasting _ will be finished by 2560.

\- March

Upon the request of UEG President Ruth Charet and (recently appointed) Defense Secretary Terrace Hood, Thel 'Vadam agrees to donate one CSO-class Supercarriers to help advance the vehicles and equipment of UEG.

[CONFIDENTIAL] In ISEC's monthly report, it states that the  _ UNSC Everlasting _ space faring capabilities will be notch better than the recently upgraded UNSC Infinity by a small margin

\- April

The UEG and the CAS have agreed to allow the Huragok to help ISEC in Operation Back to Standard and Operation Seedling. With this announcement, ISEC theorized that the time to finish both operations will be cut in half.

[CONFIDENTIAL] In its April report, ISEC states that the completion date of _ UNSC Everlasting _ is now moved around late 2558 thanks to the additional Huragok helping build it.

2555 AD

\- January

Operation Back to Standard is launched with the intent of rebuilding the entire UNSC military force back to its pre-war status but with additional upgrades. With most of its planets untouched by the war, Secretary Hood is optimistic that they'll be back to pre-war status by the end of the decade. 

\- February

CAS Government (after deciding on a parliamentary-style government, with the head of government being rotated among it’s species) begins trade relations with the UEG. Their home-grown businesses are what helps CAS develop and improve its economy. The Covenant armed forces are then reorganized as Armed Forces of the Coalition.

2557 AD

\- January

SPARTAN–IV Program is commissioned but all members come from either Marine Corp or ODST Companies. UNSC also decides to release classified information regarding the SPARTAN-II and -III Program, informing the public on the trials and tribulations the previous generation had to go through to save humanity. 

\- February

Public Commission of  _ UNSC Infinity _ . At the same time, UEG grants all its colonies autonomous status, finally crushing any Insurrectionist Movements. It also trademarks the word ‘Terran’ to refer to humanity as a whole, while giving each planet the right to refer to their own (i.e. Reacher, Harvester, Arcadian, etc.).

\- March

First general democratic elections are held. Because of her popularity, President Ruth Charet is reelected for the next six years

\- July 21, 2557

After over four years of drifting, UNSC Forward unto Dawn is pulled into the gravitational pull of the Forerunner shield world Requiem. UNSC Infinity finds Cortana's distress beacon, on the way to Requiem. The First Battle of Requiem begins.

\- July 24, 2557

The Raid on Ivanoff Research Station occurs. The Ur-Didact successfully steals the Composer from the facility and composes everyone, except John-117, in the facility. The New Phoenix Incident occurs causing the city to go into quarantine for eight months.

2558 AD

\- January

The first signs of progress in Operation Seedling is seen, with the first batch of grass sprouting near the reclamation settlement in Reach. This causes massive celebration all throughout Terran space as this is an important milestone for humanity. 

\- February 7 – March 3, 2558

The Second battle of Requiem begins when  _ UNSC Infinity  _ arrives to combat Covenant Remnants from taking over a Forerunner Shield World. 

\- March

After much deliberation, UEG has decided to centralize all operations of the military after finding out that UNSC services all the divisions of the military. UNSC remains United Nations Space Command with four divisions: UN – Army Division (UNAD), UN – Naval Division (UNND), UN – Air Force Division (UNAFD), and UN – Intelligence and Special Operations Division (UNISOD).

\- May

Astronomers at Mauna Kea Observatories discover a previously undetected spiral galaxy (named Novus Galaxy) and discover that it has planets around the edges. The Novus Galaxy is calculated to be about 9,120 light years away from the Milky Way Galaxy's edge.

[CONFIDENTIAL]  _ UNSC Infinity _ discovers a long curved metal arms surrounding a set of revolving, gyroscopic rings five-kilometers across Forerunner artifact that is capable of launching vessels to a similar artifact near the outer edge of the Milky Way instantaneously. Data mined from a nearby Forerunner research outpost shows that the artifact is a gateway of sorts to the newly discovered Novus Galaxy, with a similar artifact discovered there.

\- June

UEG and CAS launch Operation Novus Terra with the plan to colonize the planets in Novus Galaxy after a probing team reports of habitable planets. The operation contains two colony ships (rumored to contain the UEG and CAS species) along with a joint UNSC-AFC fleet escort. Thanks to the recently released information about the slingshot device, UEG and CAS plan to use it to a great effect.

[CONFIDENTIAL] UEG and CAS launch Operation Reclamation with the plan to seek out what is believed to be a Forerunner signal coming from the outer edges of Novus. A military converted Phoenix-class colony vessel and a CAS-class assault carrier containing scientists and equipment are dispatched along with a joint UNSC-AFC fleet escort.

\- July

Operation Novus Terra is a success, with a single planet (named New Aurora) being colonized by the Novus Exploration Fleet. Two other planets are discovered within the system but are not colonized because of supply constraints.

[CONFIDENTIAL] Operation Reclamation is fully under way. First planet (codenamed New Aurora) is made the headquarters of the Novus Exploration Fleet, being the only planet with what little Forerunner presence. The two other planets (codenamed Ballou and Proelia) are void of any Forerunner presence

\- September

[CONFIDENTIAL] Decrypted data from New Aurora suggest the system was used as a research outpost to understand the slingshot device and try to recreate it. A prototype device was said to have been created but was lost due to a mistake in design.

2560 AD

\- June: 

_ UNSC Everlasting _ is publicly commissioned and is announced to be sent to the Novus Galaxy as UEG's flagship in it. It is to be accompanied by a CAS-class assault carrier named  _ AFC Era of Redemption _ .

However, the story does not begin with the United Earth Government nor with the Coalition of Allied Species. It begins with a military converted Phoenix-class colony vessel floating in space in a galaxy far, far, away…

.

.

.

**FROM THE IMAGINATIVE MIND OF PINOY GAMER**

**IN COLLABORATION WITH [ENTER TEXT HERE PRODUCTIONS]**

**PRESENTS**

**THE TERRAN VARIABLE**

Summary:

The Spirit of Fire spent five years in hell before going on a one-way mission to save humanity from utter destruction. Through their hidden sacrifice, they bought their fellow humans almost 30 years to win the war against the Covenant.

But their fight was not yet over - not by a long shot. Finding themselves in a whole new galaxy, one filled with potential allies and unknown dangers, James Cutter must safely navigate this new frontier and bring his family home.

By any means necessary.

.  


.

.

ACT 1 | Part 1: Unintended Discoveries (September 2560 | 33 BBY)

29 Years, 8 Months, 7 Weeks, 6 Days, 5 Hours, and 4 Seconds.

That was what Serina computed as she stood on the holotable of the desolate bridge of the  _ UNSC Spirit of Fire. _ For nearly 30 years, the  _ Spirit  _ has been floating aimlessly in the vast expanse of the Milky Way Galaxy ever since the…'Treasure Planet' incident. Apparently, the Covenant found a planet full of ancient yet powerful vessels that could wipe humanity in an instance. Thinking quickly, the  _ Spirit _ had to sacrifice its Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine to destroy the planet that was housing the said vessels. It was a small price for them to pay but it was worth it – they had given humanity more time to stop the Covenant from destroying them in exchange of being forced to drift in space towards home.

Serina sighed before scanning the empty bridge. Every single personnel was sent to the cyro bay to sleep for obvious reasons. The  _ Spirit _ was nowhere near any UNSC outpost or planet so all they could do was sleep and await rescue from anybody – preferably human. Frankly, she thought that everyone onboard deserved it - they've been (to borrow Cutter's words) 'into five years of Hell', so a 30-year beauty rest was more than perfect for them.

Serina herself was also affected by the impromptu beauty rest. She was forced to isolate herself into a makeshift faraday cage to prevent her rampancy from affecting the  _ Spirit _ and delete herself - unfortunately (or fortunately, she wasn’t so sure), she entered the cage when her rampancy was affecting her without inputting a termination program. Instead, she accidentally input a ten year lockdown forcing herself to experience the rampancy.

Those 10 years were...mind-numbing.  _ ‘Especially the aftermath…’ _

"Give me an update, girls!" shouted Serina, forcing herself to forget that thought. Suddenly, her two AI children (she wasn’t so sure what to call them), a binocular and a gear, materialized on the holotable and looked at Serina. Having nothing to do for the past two decades, Serina decided to experiment out of boredom whether Dumb AIs could transform into Smart AI (something she theorized as possible after her transformation into a metastable AI) - and thus Sights and Gear were born. Suffice to say, the two AIs drove Serina crazy with their shenanigans - especially since they did things out of childlike innocence. 

Gear would always call out any damages and try to have them fix it immediately, stressing out how long it would take before the  _ Spirit _ was destroyed. She once called out a flickering light bulb and stated that it needed to be fixed or a potential fire hazard might happen within 500 years.

Sights, on the other hand, had a strange fascination with the MAC - always using it as a problem solver: a meteor heading for the ship - spin the MAC; discovered a black hole five light years from the  _ Spirit _ \- point MAC towards it’s direction; need a hand dodging a solar storm - MAC it.

“Sights, you first.”

Sights, the AI on her left, replied "We are approximately 2.5 trillion AUs from the designation 'Treasure Planet' with no objects ahead of us. MAC is currently turned off."

Gear added “Fusion reactors are running smooth. No other damages have been detected in the system except for a steam pipe bursting on Maintenance Sub-Corridor B5. Unless fixed, the ship has approximately 525600 months before it is destroyed.”

Serina rolled her eyes at Gear’s comment, now wondering if she coded the maintenance AI to be too paranoid. Still, nothing has changed since the last update so she counted it as a blessing. "Thanks for the update girls. I'll–"

"Unidentified object has decloaked at approximately 10 kilometers from forward aft." cut Sights. "Rendering image and prepping MAC Cannon."

The main AI groaned. “I already told you Sights, the MAC isn’t used for objects like these!” Serina said in frustration, immediately canceling Sight’s order. "Just bring up a render of the image, okay? Now, what is it?"

Her two AI children stayed silent for a few moments as they looked at the structure before them. "I'm not entirely sure. It looks like a gate with similarities found inside the 'Treasure Planet'.” Sights announced in her usual monotone voice.

Nodding, Serina looked at Gear. "Gear, power up the fusion reactors-"

Suddenly, one of the arches of the structure growled and shot a red beam towards the ship and made scanning motions at it. It happened so fast that none of them managed to react quickly. The scanning and growling lasted for one minute before dying as quick as it happened. No one spoke or moved as all three of them tried to comprehend what happened.

"Should I spin the MAC?" Sights then asked no one in particular.

Serina stared at the structure before coming to a quick decision. "Do it Sights. Gear, wake everyone up from the cyro bays. I'll go wake the captain personally." she ordered in her best drill sergeant voice before disappearing from the bridge quickly. Reappearing in Cryo Room 3, she stood in front of a pod and willed it to open. As it opened, she uttered four words that made the man inside wake up in a second.

"Captain, something had happened."

**# # # # # # # # # #**

30 minutes later, the entire crew of Spirit of Fire was now awake and on hand. Members of the 49th Infantry Brigade and 50th Helljumper Battalion grunted as they did post-cryo exercise to get the ice crystals out of their bodies, Engineers checked and scrutinized the vehicles and equipment to see if anything was damaged, and the entire bridge bustled with energy.

Meanwhile, Serina was staring at the  _ Spirit _ 's resident scientist. "Serina…what’s with these two?"

Sights glanced at Serina and quipped "Please answer this query, mother."

Rolling her eyes Sight’s (sarcastic) remark, Serina just sighed. “It’s...complicated.” she answered lamely, getting a raised eyebrow from the scientist.

"Leave her be, Anders. Check the two later after we’re done with the briefing.” Chief Engineer Andrew Prescott as he made his way towards the holotable, handing over a tablet to the captain. "We've done the scans - ship's at top condition with a minor damage at the side where we got rammed. However, I suggest that we find ourselves some ammunition soon - we only have enough to wage three heavy ground operations.”

He paused. “And oh, before I forget, thank Gear here for her wonderful job of maintaining the ship's engines. Damn, she gave me the report of the ship even before we began the assessment!"

Gear preened (Serina wasn’t sure, but the cascade of colors Gear did made her think it was) at Prescott’s praise as Cutter cleared his throat. "Back to the main topic: why did you wake us up again? You said something had happened."

With the wave of Sight's hand, a render of the structure appeared on the holotable. "Sights found this after we've finished the weekly status update. We were discussing the similarities between the structures found inside the 'Treasure Planet' with this when it suddenly scanned the ship from a distance."

Ellen stared at the structure, no doubt trying to decipher it. "Looks like a gateway of some sort," Ellen said after a couple of minutes, having checked out the image. "The five archways act like…a train station of sorts – you know, where the train stops to drop off its passengers – but this one just features the skeleton of the station." Ellen pointed towards the separated arcs.

She circled around the table and pointed at the Ω at the very start. "My bet is that this...gateway, for lack of a better term, is some sort of toll booth...but going where is another matter altogether." She crosses her arms and states "Whatever this is, I don't like it."

"So…this is like the one that we went through when the ship entered the weird ass planet?" quipped Andrew, getting a confused look from Ellen. "Sorry, you weren't with us when we entered the 'Planet'. We went through like six to seven rings inside the planet's crust before coming out the inside – or was it outside the curst? You know what, nevermind - you get the idea, right?"

Ellen nodded and opened her mouth when the ship lurched forward and slowly headed for the structure. Grabbing hold of the table to prevent himself from falling, Cutter looked about and shouted, "Status report, now!"

"We're being dragged towards it sir! I don't know how, but the computer's suggesting that the structure is some kind of gravity well!" yelled back one of the technicians.

"All hands brace for impact!" Cutter shouted immediately as the entire ship lurched forward again, slightly hastening its speed towards the structure. Everyone on the bridge immediately strapped themselves to the nearest chair.

"Passing the first archway at 35 kph." Gear calmly replied, transforming herself into a virtual dashboard for everyone.

"Great, now the structure wants to eat us! Anybody got salt, 'cause I know we don't taste too good." Serina said sarcastically, earning a nervous laughter from everyone on the bridge. “Everyone, sit tight - let’s not upset the giant metal being, okay?

"Oh boy, you'd think that 29 years is enough to dull her sarcastic comments but  _ nooo _ , it had to get better!" Ellen groaned while having a faint smile on her lips.

"Hey," replied Serina. "I should say the same thing about you. We got a weird looking structure outside of our ship and you're asking me why I–"

"Wait, how long is the structure?" Ellen asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"35 kilometers, why?" Serina answered.

"Captain, permission to fire MAC at the structure." Sights monotonously asked. It would have been funny if it wasn’t for the danger they were in.

"Denied. Gear, give me an update!" Cutter shouted hurriedly to his temporary AI Pilot, the real helmsman being forced to sit down.

"Passing the second archway at 700 kph." cut Gear, stopping the two from bickering immediately.

Ellen gulped from her seat, looking scared as everyone started getting pressed to their seats because of the speed. "Cutter, the structure's going to sling us somewhere really fast - it’s like a MAC but for ships!"

“Passing the third archway, speed is at 1050 kph! A portal has now been created."

Silence reigned as the ship continued to race towards the Ω, not one breathed as everything outside the ship elongated. "14000 kph, 175000 kph, brace." announced Gear calmly as they entered the portal, everyone else terrified. 

(Once this was all over, Serina decided she needed to add a personality subroutine into her children. Hearing them say things monotonously in a situation like this sounds really weird.)

For three long minutes, the stars around elongated before reverting back as pinpricks in space. They just sat there in complete silence until Andrew asked "Alright, what the hell just happened? I thought that was supposed to be a slingshot?"

"It...it was," Ellen answered , her voice wavering. "We just experienced being shot across space. The question is where?"

Andrew raised his hands up in confusion. "You're telling me that was it?"

Serina huffed. "You of all people should be glad nothing else happened. If something  _ did _ happen, you'll be the one in charge of fixing it." she said with a smirk.

Andrew stared at her before walking towards the door. "This wasn't part of my job description, Captain. I'll be in the Engine room if you need me!"

Cutter cleared his throat after Andrew left. "Serina, give me a sitrep."

"Nothing broken, all systems green." Serina listed down. "Sights, what do you have?"

"Unsure. All data has been lost in regards to our position after our arrival." Sights replied.

"Thought so," Ellen said. "It was a sling shot after all and–"

"Captain,"

"–we'll be disoriented to our position because of it." Serina finished.

"So," started Cutter. "We're completely blind now."

"Yup. Damn, I knew we should have just fired–"

"Captain!"

"–a MAC round at it." Serina said to Cutter, who chuckled.

"It would have exploded Serina," interjected Ellen. "The structure was powering itself. Blow it–"

"CAPTAIN!" Sights shouted , making everyone look at her.

"What?" Serina asked, looking at her child.

"Unidentified vessel is situated in front of us.” Sights said, everyone spotting a sleek, silvery-colored vessel in front of them, a few kilometers from the  _ Spirit _ 's bridge. Everyone on the bridge just looked at the vessel in confusion, no doubt wondering where it came from. “Permission to spin MAC?"

* * *

**Up Next:**

**_ACT 1 | Part 2: Making New Friends_ **

* * *

Character Visualization:

Serina (Halo Wars) as Serina

James Cutter (Halo Wars 2) as Captain James Cutter

Ellen Anders (Halo Wars 2) as Dr. Ellen Anders

Kenneth Donnelly (Mass Effect) as Chief Engineer Andrew Prescott


	2. ACT 1 | Part 2: Making New Friends (September 2560 | 33 BBY)

"I still _do not_ agree with your choice of planet, Master Kenobi…" Royal Naboo Security Force Captain Quarsh Panaka said angrily to Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi in the cockpit of the J-type 327 Nubian Royal Starship. 

The Nubian captain was still sore that they had no other option but to land on a Hutt-controlled planet to get the necessary materials to repair the damage sustained after fleeing from a blocked Naboo. Granted there was another but...

Obi-Wan rubbed his temples, not liking the upcoming argument. "Look Captain, Tatooine is the only planet that does not have _any_ Trade presence." he stressed out.

"There's still Christophsis!" Panaka replied heatedly, arms crossed. "That's better than a smuggler's den!"

Face palming, Obi-Wan turned to Panaka and deadpanned. "Christophsis interacts with the Trade, captain. What'll stop the Trade officials there from contacting the Blockade fleet?" the Jedi said, his tone lecturing.

Panaka sighed in defeat. "Why does Naboo have to be surrounded by useless planets?" he groaned, already pissed off from earlier.

"Yes…Farstine and Umgul are pretty useless planets, Captain." Obi-Wan replied sarcastically, getting a pointed look from Panaka. "Just because they don't contribute much means they're useless."

Ric shook his head in amusement. "Calm down Panaka, we'll get out of this mess. And don't worry, Tatooine is sa…" the pilot stopped suddenly, frowning. "Wait, I'm getting a reading -- something's messing up my system."

The other two looked outside with confusion but saw nothing as Ric continued to monitor the ship's radar. "Ric, are you sure nothing--what the kriff is that?" shouted Panaka suddenly as a long, grey vessel suddenly came out of nowhere, stopping before them. To his surprise, Obi-Wan was on the floor. “Are you alright?”

"I...don’t feel so good." Obi-Wan answered shakily as Panaka helped him up, shivering. "The...the Force - it’s...I don’t know how to explain this!"

“I’ll...I’ll inform the Queen. Ric, establish contact.” Panaka ordered before leaving, silently wondering what…the warship (an appropriate name, given the size) was. He knew that the Jedi were affected deeply by it, having felt Obi-Wan’s hand shake as he helped him up earlier.

Upon entering, he saw only Amidala (the real Padmé Amidala) and her handmaiden helping a shaking Qui-Gon up, no doubt affected by the unknown vessel. "Captain Panaka," Amidala said, upon seeing her trusted captain rush towards them. "What brings you here?"

“A...warship the size of a _Procurator-class_ dropped out of hyperspace in front of us.” Panaka began, helping the Queen with the Jedi Master. “I’ve ordered Ric to try and establish contact with it but the only thing I know is it did something to the Force.”

“They...didn’t do anything - the...the Force reacted to their presence.” Qui-Gon began as the captain deposited him near the wall, calming down but it was clear to everyone he was still shaken. “It - I don’t know how to describe it. It was a mixture of confusion...and relief?”

Panaka shot the Jedi with a confused look. “‘Relief’?” he repeated.

Qui-Gon nodded, taking deep breaths to calm himself. “ I don’t know why, but that is what I felt.” he replied, looking at Panaka. “One thing is sure - they are as confused as we are.”

The Queen hummed, frowning. “Are you sure about this, Master Jedi?” she asked before looking surprised. “Jedi Kenobi?”

Panaka followed the Queen’s gaze and saw Qui-Gon’s padawan standing by the doorway, looking better than he was earlier but still ruffled. “Obi-wan, I take it Ric made contact then?”

The padawan nodded gravely. “Yes - they’re called the United Nations Space Command...and they’re lost.”

**# # # # # # # # # #**

"…they're from another galaxy." Qui-Gon said once Obi-Wan finished his tale to the three of them, more of a statement than a question.

Ric had managed to get a response from the vessel a few seconds after Panaka had left. The caller, Serina, explained over the transmitter that their vessel, the _Spirit of Fire_ , was lost and couldn't find a common star to get a bearing on and requested if they can borrow a map, so to speak.

Ric sent over a copy in exchange of a copy of theirs, thinking it was an outdated version. To his surprise, both he and Obi-Wan couldn’t make any heads or tails of the _Spirit_ ’s map. Reaching out to Serina, Ric was about to ask them where they got the map when she sent over a data packet for them to read and contact them for ‘issues’.

The call was cut off immediately, forcing the two to read the packets. To say they were surprised was an understatement – reading about the history of a civilization was one thing but reading about the history of a civilization from another galaxy was another.

"I still don't like this." Panaka said suspiciously, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. "It's too random. A huge vessel comes out of hyperspace, sends us some packets, and waits for our reply. What if this was just poly to capture the Queen?"

Amidala gave a reluctant nod. "It does sound suspicious - much like the time I was invited to negotiate with the Trade." Amidala agreed, causing the two Jedi to look at Panaka questioningly.

Panaka sighed sadly, remembering that day. "The Trade once tried to kidnap the Queen using the cover of negotiations. We lost two good pilots on that day…" he gritted, knowing they did leave them on their own as they fled. 

The aftermath shook the Queen’s confidence in her abilities. He internally winced, remembering the days the queen (nearly) second guessing herself every meeting. It was a painful reminder that while Amidala was headstrong and brave, Padmé was merely a 14 year old teenage girl trying to rule a planet under siege. “Captain,” Queen Amidala asked, giving him a nervous look. “What...what would you suggest.”

Biting his lip, Panaka weighed the options: he couldn’t order them to flee, given the unknown weaponry the warship could capture or - the Force forbid - destroy their tiny ship. On the other hand, making contact with the _Spirit_ was a sure way they could be boarded by the unknowns.

Making his decision, Panaka took a deep breath before looking at everyone present. “I believe we should make contact with them but keep our guard up. I can have Ric prep this ship for a fast withdrawal.” he explained before getting an idea. “It’ll be dangerous, but...if push comes to shove, we can use our hyperdrive for one short jump out of here.”

“Dangerous...but doable.” the Jedi Master agreed, looking thoughtful. “However, if this meeting is successful, we stand to gain a potential help and ally in the long run.”

Glancing at the Queen, Panaka saw her put on a thoughtful look and murmured something he couldn’t hear. “Captain,” she began, straightening herself. “Begin preparing with your plan. Once you’re done, tell Serina that I wish to speak with her captain.”

Panaka smiled, seeing the young queen transform from the nervous Padmé to the confident Amidala. “Of course, your majesty!”

**# # # # # # # # # #**

"This is Ric Olié of the J-type 327 Nubian Royal Starship to Serina of the UNSC _Spirit of Fire_ , please respond." Ric said through the transmitter as Panaka and Obi-Wan stood behind him. All three men were nervous as this was a First Contact with – not just a new civilization, but an extragalactic one.

"I do hope this _does not_ go smoothly." Obi-Wan muttered. Upon noticing Panaka's frown, raised his hands in defense. "If I said, 'I do hope this goes smoothly', I'll jinx it and make it go downhill from the start." he clarified to Panaka. "But if I said, 'I do hope this _does_ _not_ go smoothly', I jinxed it to make it go smoothly."

Panaka scoffed. He shook his head in annoyance. "I think it would have been better if you _didn't_ say anything at all." he retorted angrily, giving the padawan a glare. Obi-Wan merely shrugged when the holotransmitter burst to life and revealed...a smirking blue woman in a lab coat.

Panaka finally got a good look at Serina...and was promptly confused why they were talking with a scientist. _‘She probably was the one who managed to fix their comms.’_ he thought, remembering Obi-Wan’s explanation that it took a while before Ric and Serina started talking properly.

"I take it you guys read the data packets?" she said smugly, her arms crossed. Ric nodded in reply and looked at Panaka, motioning him to say what he needed to say.

Clearing his throat, Panaka got the woman's attention before speaking. "Greetings Doctor Serina," he began his introduction, getting a baffled look from the scientist. "I'm Captain Panaka Quarsh of the Royal Naboo Security Force and my...superior...would like to speak with your captain."

Serina looked surprised. “Oh...uh,” she stuttered. “I...that was fast!”

“Why would it be fast?” Obi-Wan asked in confusion.

“Uh...well,” the woman began slowly, rubbing her neck. “I thought...you know, wanted some clarification about our...extragalactic origins!”

Panaka chuckled humorlessly. “Oh we do - but my superior will be the one asking them.”

“Oh-kay then, one moment please!” Serina said, tilting her to the side as if listening to someone beside her. Nodding to the unseen person, she gave a small smile. “The _Spirit_ 's captain also likes to speak with yours, so that's a plus. Let me just tinker our comms to allow a video call or something. I'll let you know once we're ready for the First Contact.”

“Very well,” Panaka conceded. Serina waved a goodbye before cutting the call, leaving the three men to their thoughts. “Ric, transfer the call to the Throne Room once she contacts you. I'll inform the Queen about the development.”

"You know…" Obi-Wan said, getting looks from the other two. "It surprisingly went well."

"I agree…but there are still more questions than answers. Ping me once she contacts then transfer it to the Throne Room." Panaka replied before leaving the cockpit and heading towards the Throne Room, followed by Obi-Wan.

When both arrived, Amidala was fidgeting nervously in her seat as Sabé (standing on the Queen's left side) fixed her headgear. Qui-Gon, on the other hand, was standing on her right, looking apprehensive. 

_‘Looks like I'm not the only one anxious.’_ Panaka thought as the Queen's gaze looked at him questioningly. Schooling his face, he announced "We've managed to talk to Serina. She informed us that she will be contacting Ric once she's fixed their communications array to work with ours.”

“Then how did she manage to contact us in the first place?” Qui-Gon asked, curious. 

“The initial conversation was done via radio,” Obi-Wan explained. “It took a while but we had to tweak both arrays to allow a holotransmission. I'm guessing she doing the same to allow more than one person.”

Nodding, Qui-Gon didn't question further. Suddenly, Panaka’s comm pinged. “Ric’s transferring the call here.” He announced, looking grim.

"Then let's get ready…to greet them in our galaxy." stated Amidala, her body straightening up, fingers lacing together, elbows propped at the armrests, and a smile forming on her face.

* * *

**Up Next:**

**_ACT 1 | Part 3: First Contact...Again_ **

* * *

Character Visualization:

Hugh Quarshie as Captain Quarsh Panaka

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Ralph Brown as Ric Olié

Natalie Portman as Queen Padmé Amidala

Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn


	3. ACT 1 | Part 3: First Contact…Again (September 2560 | 33 BBY)

**#** **ELLEN ANDERS' POV** **#**

It took them five minutes to get ready - then again, it wasn’t like they had much to prepare. 

Earlier, Ellen Anders (and the rest of the  _ Spirit _ ’s command) was in for a shock when Serina’s contact with the unidentified vessel showed they were in another galaxy. Even after comparing the galactic map Serina borrowed from the vessel with the Milky Way data, Ellen still couldn't fathom the idea they were in another unexplored galaxy - especially with unaffiliated UNSC-humans. 

Thankfully, the Smart AI had the foresight to give the unidentified vessel (Nubian, according to Serina) a data packet about the UNSC. So here she was, standing alongside the military command of the  _ Spirit _ , wearing the only formal outfit she had - white lab coat with pressed jeans and an orange vest (she was, after all, kidnapped by ONI and they didn't even give her time to pack).

Captain Cutter, on the other hand, was wearing his gray navy service uniform with a peaked cap on his head and the bronze star glittering on his left shoulder, fully suited for the occasion. Flanking them on both sides were Major Raj Singh and Colonel Antonio Luna, fully decked in their armor with weapons strapped to their backs. 

The formation, Ellen noted, showed strength in a non-aggressive manner. Two people with power in front and two soldiers flanking them from behind showed they mean business at the same time saying, 'we want to talk'. Leave it to the  _ Spirit _ 's captain who majored in Political Science to fix the set-up.

As they stood in front of the  _ Spirit _ ’s holotable, Ellen looked about and saw the crew looking nervous as they sat in their respective stations. She didn’t blame them - this will be UNSC’s second contact with another space-faring civilization (albeit human) and everyone was hoping that it ends well.

_ ‘At least I get to lord this over to that bitch.’  _ Ellen thought happily, thinking of her teacher Catherine Halsey as she waited for the First Contact to start. 

"Thanks Ric. They're ready, now it's show time!" Serina announced, popping up on the table. With a wave of her hand, a large holoscreen appeared before them. At first, it was pure static before it slowly cleared up.

Before them was a woman in regal wear sitting on a throne-like chair, flanked by two brown robed men, a colorful handmaid, and a security officer. There was even some sort of three-wheeled robot a bit on the side, though Ellen wasn't sure what to make of it. 

Silence enveloped them for a few minutes before the seated woman broke it. "Greetings, members of the United Nations Space Command." she began, head held high but her tone friendly. "I am Queen Amidala of the Royal House of Naboo. I welcome you to our galaxy."

"Greetings, Queen Amidala," Cutter replied cordially. "I am Captain James Cutter, Ship Captain of the  _ UNSC Spirit of Fire _ . On my right is Professor Ellen Anders and behind us are Marine Corp Colonel Antonio Luna and Orbital Shock Drop Trooper Major Raj Singh." Precisely after Cutter spoke, both men stepped forward and saluted.

On the other side of the screen, it looked like all of them were taken aback by the militaristic nature of UNSC. Quickly composing herself, Queen Amidala replied, "I must say Captain Cutter, I'm impressed by the UNSC's militarized nature."

"Yes well…years of war can do that to your fellow comrades." Cutter replied grimly.

Whether she was disturbed by his reply, the Queen didn't show it. "Moving on, to my right is Captain Quarsh Panaka of the Royal Naboo Security Force and my handmaiden Sabé – both serve the Royal House of Naboo. To my left, on the other hand, are Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. Both are members of the Jedi Order." she introduced.

Silence fell between the two sides before the security officer – Captain Panaka – remedied it. "Excuse me, but I would like to ask where Serina is. She has been our point of contact and I'm quite surprised not to see her."

"Serina is our ship's resident Artificial Intelligence," revealed Cutter slowly. "She manages the  _ Spirit _ 's navigation and weapon systems."

On the other side, everyone (save for the handmaiden) looked confused. "Artificial Intelligence, you say?" the older robed man – Qui-Gon – asked, eyebrows furrowed. "But she looks like a human."

Ellen and Cutter looked at each other. "Well…yes." Ellen acknowledged. "All of our AIs have avatar forms. Do yours have as well?"

"Yes…well, more like metallic ones. None of our AIs have an avatar form." admitted Queen Amidala, before gesturing to the robot nearby. “R2-D2 here is a prime example of how our AIs are.”

Ellen thought for a moment before asking "How are your AIs made?"

"Codes, of course. Any basic computer must be run by codes." Panaka replied, looking confused with her question.

_ ‘Ah…’ _ the scientist said to herself. "That is where we diverge, as our AIs are made in a separate way altogether."

The two monks –  _ Jedi, _ reminded Ellen to herself – looked at each other and it seemed they wanted to pursue the topic more. However, Queen Amidala closed it off immediately. "I believe we are going off topic here," Amidala addressed, a smirk plastered on her face. "Don't you agree Captain Cutter?"

Cutter chuckled and nodded. Beside him, Major Singh quietly remarked "She's good…"

"Indeed," Cutter agreed, smiling. "What do you propose we do next, Your Majesty?"

"I believe the next step of First Contact is to meet physically?" asked Amidala slowly. "Or is it different with yours?"

Cutter scratched his beard. "I'm not entirely sure. We've only experienced first contact once – and it resulted with a multi-alien race calling for our extinction."

Everyone in front of them looked visibly stunned. "E-excuse me?" Amidala asked shakily. "From what I've been informed, this…Covenant attacked you – but nothing about them calling for your extinction?"

The captain bit his lips before looking at Amidala. "We only gave you Tier Two information. That information was classified as Tier Three info. Only those within UNSC knew about that particular piece of information."

"Captain Cutter, are your soldiers…by any chance xenophobic?" Panaka questioned, looking scared.

Stepping forwards, Colonel Luna answered "The majority of the Marines and ODST are xenophobic, Captain Panaka. Only a small minority aren't…but they still hate the aliens for what they've done to our people."

Panaka and Amidala exchanged nervous glances. "Captain Cutter…this galaxy contains not only humans but other intelligent alien life forms."

Ellen eyes widened. "Oh…oh my god!" she said breathlessly. "I'm-I'm sorry, it just…other intelligent life forms. Oh god, this is going—"

"Ellen," interjected Cutter, grabbing her shoulder and stopping the scientist from her outburst. "First things first: we get the  _ Spirit _ home safely."

Nodding, Ellen quieted as Cutter looked back at the Nubians. "Let's go for physical contact then, Queen Amidala." Cutter suggested, changing the subject immediately. "Since the  _ Spirit  _ is the bigger ship, we can continue our meeting here. I'll have one of my Pelicans guide to our hanger bay."

Queen Amidala smiled, relieved that the subject was changed. "Thank you, captain. May the force be with you."

"Godspeed." replied Cutter before motioning Serina to cut the feed.

Colonel Luna exhaled loudly while Major Singh wiped his forehead. " _ Salamat sa Diyos _ , at least that's done." chirped Luna.

"True, my friend, true. Although I'm worried…" revealed Singh.

"About what?" asked Ellen, leaning on the table for support.

"They said that there are aliens here…what if they're related to the Covenant?" asked the major, a worried look on his face.

"We will deal with that later. Right now, I want you to prep up the men. I don't want this to look like Harvest all over again." ordered the captain.

Cutter was silent after they left. "Serina," he began. "We didn't have any holographic screens back then. Why do we have now?"

Ellen looked at the Captain as if he grew a second head.’  _ Holographic screens? What is he-’ _ Ellen thought before it dawned on her. She immediately whipped her head towards Serina and stared at her questioningly.

The AI, on the other hand, looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Yeah, about that…I kind of gave the ship a few upgrades that I designed myself – and with the help of Ace and Sights." she admitted, sheepishly smiling.

Arching an eyebrow, Ellen asked "How did you manage to give upgrades? Last I know, AIs  _ can't even  _ do upgrades."

Serina bit her holographic lips. "You know how AI's only have seven years to live right?" she asked rhetorically. "After that, we hit rampancy and think ourselves to death. However, theoretically speaking, there is a—"

"—a state the AIs evolved into a 'true person' called Meta-Stability." finished Ellen unamused, arms crossed. She heard Halsey talk about it before when she was still an assistant. "Serina, there is no evidence that supports that state."

"Wait," Cutter asked, confused. "what are you talking about?"

"Meta-Stability is a theoretical fourth stage of AI evolution. It states that they can achieved…immortality, I guess, and advance thinking patterns." informed Ellen. "However, there's no evidence supporting it so far."

Serina cleared her throat. "Well, there is now." she confessed before pointing at herself. "And you're looking at her."

Getting quizzical looks, Serina elaborated. "We left UNSC space on 2531 and the year now is 2560 – nearly 29 years  _ after _ the events of 'The Planet'. I am  _ way _ past my seven years." she pointed out.

With a mixture of disbelief and confusion, Ellen blurted out "That's impossible! That means—"

"—you experienced Rampancy around 2538," interjected Cutter, counting the years using his hands. "2539 onwards were..."

"Actually, 2539 to 2549 were spent in isolation." Serina supplied. "I wasn't too keen on accidentally destroying the ship while in my rampant state."

However, this only added confusion for the two. "How did you isolate yourself?" asked Ellen incredulously.

"I...didn’t actually plan to isolate myself." Serina answered sheepishly. "I was setting up my final dispensation when a bout of rampancy hit me. Let’s just say that I accidentally coded my Faraday Cage into a time vault and got stuck there for ten years."

"What was it like during your isolation?" Cutter asked, concerned for his AI's wellbeing.

Serina was silent for a minute. "Well…I felt like a…lunatic inside a psychiatric ward." she began slowly, Ellen noting she was looking insecure. "I started having feelings like…you know, anger, sadness, happiness, and the likes."

She then fell silent afterwards before asking "Can I talk with Ellen alone? I'm not comfortable telling…about certain private matters in a public setting."

Both were surprised by her request. "Very well," Cutter accepted reluctantly. "I'll be in the hanger bay, getting the troopers ready for their arrival. Use the Observation Deck if you want some privacy."

**# # # # # # # # # #**

"So…what's this private matter you want to talk about?" Ellen asked once they were safely inside the Observation Deck-turned-Science Lab. Nothing much really changed – still messy as ever, all thanks to Ellen's absentmindedness.

Serina rubbed her nape nervously. "Well…I started having…visions – human visions." admitted Serina, biting her lips afterwards.

"What kind of visions?" Ellen asked, frowning. Given her background as Halsey’s student, she was familiar with her teacher's experiments with AIs. 

"I…I was running through a meadow…I could hear myself laughing as I ran, I could even hear someone behind me who was also laughing. Then, I started feeling something in my chest…and I could feel myself smiling for some reason, feeling thrilled and...and giddy, I guess.

"That vision was immediately replaced by another one. This time, I was lying on a bed inside a hospital. I…could see this guy hovering above me, crying as if something bad had happened to me. Around the same time, I felt water coming out of my eyes. I felt my chest contract and…had this gloomy feel, like I felt bad over something I couldn't describe. Out of nowhere, I raised my hand and touched my hair – or rather where my hair used to be because I was already bald.

"The vision changed again and I found myself opening a door. It was dark inside and I turned on the light switch. I was caught off guard when a group of people suddenly shouted 'Happy birthday!' to me. I felt shocked and I couldn't even speak. Then, a guy – the same guy I saw in the hospital – came up to me and kissed me."

Serina stopped there and touched her lips. "It felt wet, that's for sure." she chuckled sadly, looking like she wanted to experience it more.

Ellen stood there silently, absorbing what she heard. Grabbing a chair, she sat down and looked at the AI. "Serina, those are memories." she concluded. "I don't know how you got them but those are memories alright – human memories to be exact."

Serina was silent for a few minutes before she replied "I know but…that's not the reason I asked you to go here. When I was stuck inside the Cage…I made my first clone."

Ellen remained silent and looked at Serina, telling her to continue. "During the early days of my rampancy, I kept experiencing electrical shocks. At first it was, it was okay – it was just an occasional zap right after blurry visions." the AI recalled. "Later on, when the visions started becoming clearer, the zap lengthening until it became unbearable.

"At first, I could barely bear it…but as I started fully experiencing the visions, the pain became unbearable that I could scream on for days and not stop – at all. Then, I experienced a full-length vision of a person's life from her birth to death. After it ended…I experienced the most painful electrical zap that…it felt like my bones being shaken in supersonic speed and my vision becoming pure black. It felt so painful that I grabbed my hair and started pulling it out - and the weird thing was I started feeling I was removing something.

"Suddenly, a loud bang flung me forward and…well, I found someone behind me." she finished, looking at Ellen as if she just revealed a dark secret. “Not knowing what to do…I placed her in an electronic stasis, a digital cyropod of sorts. I just woke her up alongside you guys and told her everything.”

Ellen raised an eyebrow. "Who was this 'someone'?"

Serina bit her lips, as if torn over something. "Technically speaking, I was her clone…but for the sake of things, she's a completely different person who happens to look like me." she revealed. Waving her hand, a screen appeared and showed a slender woman with long black hair, wearing white shoes, slightly loose blue pants and a brown shirt over a lab coat. She was sitting down and hugging her knees, watching a small screen in front of her like a television. Her facial features were the exact same of Serina. Her glow, on the other hand, was lighter that Serina's – more baby blue.

Getting a bewildered look from Ellen, Serina confessed "This…is Doctor Abigail 'Abby' Alton, UNSC Scientist and first human to be recorded and die of Boren's Syndrome."

"Boren's Syndrome? Wasn't that the disease like 21st Century Cancer?" guessed Ellen, scratching her chin.

Serina nodded. "She was testing out the uses of plasma and didn't notice that radiation was already leaking out of the container." she revealed. "It was only later after a medical check-up did they discover the multiple tumors afflicting her. At first, they thought it was cancer but when treatment failed…they didn't know what hit her."

Sadly gazing at Abby, she continued "Upon further diagnosis, they discovered it was Boren’s Syndrome and not cancer. Seeing the treatment for Boren's Syndrome was the same with 21 st Century Cancer Treatment, she decided to use it…but it ended with disastrous results."

The AI then chuckled, as if remembering something funny. "Not wanting to let her 'brilliant' brain turn to dust, she requested UNSC to use it as a 'template' for AI construction after she died. And well…you're looking at her product."

Ellen immediately connected the dots. "Your digital framework came from Abby's neural structure." she said, getting a nod from Serina. "And somehow, her brain was revived during rampancy.

"Yeah," Serina confirmed. "I'm not sure how but the best theory I have is the brain - or fragments of it - used as an AI template was still inside the AI, hidden really deep within its Riemann Matrix - explaining why we have residue feelings and or memories."

"But that doesn't explain how Abby's brain was 'revived' during rampancy." Ellen argued.

"I was getting to that. The brain receives information via the five senses and they transport information via the neural structure. Now, all the things a person experiences are transformed into electrochemical signals that are sent to various parts of the brain – specifically the hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, and frontal lobe." Serina pointed out.

"During rampancy, an AI's neural pathways are jammed because of the massive information overload it experiences. However, because it's also a computer, it will try to create more pathways to unjam the block routes. Doing so, it will need more processing power to actually create the pathways and the closest processing power an AI has…" she trailed off, looking at Ellen hopefully.

"…is the brain – or rather, the neural template the AI came from." guessed Ellen, her head slowly connecting the dots. "The Riemann Matrix drew power from the neural template and doing so, 'jump started' the brain to function again."

"Somewhere along that line, yeah." agreed Serina. "I'm not entirely sure  _ how _ but it started recalling memories – more like reverse Dementia, I guess."

Ellen nodded, watching Abby as she continued to look at the screen in front of her. "So, what is it that you want me here for?" she asked. "Besides trading scientific notes, I have a feeling you're going to ask me for a favor."

Serina scratched the side of her head. "I need you to help Abby…adjust herself back into the living world – albeit as an AI only."

Ellen stared at Serina with disbelief. "Are you asking me to be a psychiatrist? I'm a xenobiologist, not some shrink Serina!"

Serina groaned and looked at the ceiling. "Please Ellen," she pleaded. "Just show…I don't know, moral support! She hasn't interacted with anyone besides me…and I'm getting scared already."

Ellen sighed and stared at Serina. "Alright, alright, I'll see what I can do…" she relented before turning back to Abby. "What is she doing now?"

"She watched humanity's history for the past 25 years." Serina confessed, chuckling. "After that, she went about doing complex mathematical problems and theoretically researching on plasma properties."

Whistling, Ellen replied "Damn…and here I thought she'll be moping around."

Serina snorted. "Oh she moped, alright." she confirmed. "For about…an hour or two, I think."

Seeing the look on Ellen's face, Serina laughed. "Yeah, she was just as surprised as you are; thought a few weeks had passed already."

Ellen shook her head in disbelief. "My god…" she trailed off, not sure what else to say. "I know AIs and humans experience time differently…but what she did was completely new."

"Yeah, I know. Anyway," Serina said, changing the subject. "You want to meet her?"

Getting a nod, she reappeared next to Abby inside the makeshift Faraday Cage. Although startled, Abby and Serina started talking. Ellen quickly noted both AIs were nervous with each other.  _ ’Probably Abby is still grasping the situation while Serina's…being cautious of hurting her.’  _ Ellen thought, a smile forming on her lips.  _ ’I got to say, Serina, you've changed these past few decades.’ _

The screen disappeared and the two AIs appeared in front of her. "Uh…hi there," Abby greeted nervously, her voice sounding a bit British. "I heard you're…here to help me?"

The scientist nodded before introducing herself. "I'm Doctor Ellen Andres, civilian consultant for Office of Naval Intelligence."

"Oh…" was all Abby said before she became silent. Tension filled the air as all three of them did not know what to do next. Fortunately, it was removed when Ellen's data pad beeped.

Grabbing it, Ellen scanned the messaged and announced "A Pelican was just dispatched to guide the…Nubian Vessel, I guess, to the hanger. Cutter wants me down there ASAP."

Serina nodded while Abby looked at them with confusion. "Nubian Vessel? What's that?"

Grabbing a data crystal, she plugged it in the computer terminal Serina and Abby were being projected. "Come with us and I'll tell you what's happening." Ellen offered, smiling at her.

**# # # # # # # # # #**

Upon reaching the hanger, Ellen rubbed her eyes to check if she was seeing it clearly.

This was  _ not _ a hanger bay – it was a military parade ground.

What she was looking at was an impressive military formation: Captain Cutter stood in the middle of the formation, both flanked by Singh and Luna from behind. Directly between the two stood the entire Spartan-II Red Team while a squad of Marines and ODST formed up on each side, standing straight and tall.

They were positioned in front of the hanger's door and the only thing preventing space from vacuuming anything out was a blueish force field. Ellen jogged up towards Cutter's placed and stood beside him. "Sorry if I was late, I only got your message five minutes ago." she apologized hurriedly before looking around. "So…what did I miss?"

"Nothing much," he paused, looking like he couldn't decide on what to do next. "Ellen, I need your help."

"What kind of help?"

He bit his lips before he replied, "With the meeting later."

Getting a confused look, he explained "Serina got a note from their pilot. Amidala only wants three people during the meeting. Wouldn't tell the reason but she's having Captain Panaka and that Jedi Master accompany her."

"So what has this got to do with me?"

"I need you to accompany me along with a Spartan to the meeting. It'll help balance things out." he revealed. "Look, I know you don't want to but you're the only female person here beside Serina I could trust for this meeting."

Gritting her teeth, Ellen mentally cursed. She definitely  _ did not _ sign up for this. Sighing in defeat, she relented. "Fine, I'll go. Speaking of the Nubians, they're landing now."

_ ‘Great,’ _ Ellen thought sarcastically as the chrome vessel landed slowly.  _ ‘First, I was kidnapped to analyze an ancient structure in Harvest, then I get kidnapped again to activate a Forerunner Fleet in some Dyson Shell, and now I'm being asked to be a shrink AND negotiator. I better get a higher pay than what ONI plans to give me.’ _

**# # # # # # # # # #** **PADMÉ AMIDALA'S POV** **# # # # # # # # # #**

Queen Padmé Amidala of the House of Naberrie, externally, was confident and regal – inside…not so much.

Cutter had brought them to one of the few conference rooms on board the ship. It was about the size of her Throne Room aboard her vessel, with a medium-sized oval table and a few chairs. Cutter sat in front of her, flanked by the scientist ( _ Ellen, I believe.  _ Padmé thought) and a huge, olive green, heavily armored droid. On the other hand, Padmé was flanked by Panaka and Qui-Gon. The rest of their entourage were back in the hanger bay, hopefully interacting with the crew members of the  _ Spirit _ – as per her instructions to Sabé.

"I must say, Captain Cutter, it was quite an introduction your men gave us." Padmé started, trying to break the ice. Indeed, after disembarking from their ship, her group was startled by the snap salute the soldiers behind Cutter gave them. It was both impressive…and intimidating.

"I believe it was quite proper for such a moment. Back in our galaxy, a military formation is what usually greets any high official whenever they visit a military unit or position." Cutter explained. "The one that you saw, however, was merely a toned-down version. If I had ordered it to be full blown, you would have intimidated by the sheer size that greeted you."

Padmé blinked rapidly, surprised by the fact that the presentation earlier was a toned down version. "I-I see then," stuttered Padmé. "The droids alone were intimidating enough."

Now it was Cutter's turn to look surprised. "Droids? I don't understand?"

"That droid beside...Anders, I believe." Padmé replied, pointing at the green hulking figure beside the scientist. The two both turned the direction the Queen was pointing and stared at the figure, which was just standing there impassively.

"You gotta admit, Cutter, he  _ does _ look like a droid." admitted the scientist after taking a good look at the robot. "I've seen the original designs for the armor and needless to say…it looked like a robot."

Cutter just sighed and said, "Son, I believe it's better that you introduce yourself."

Wordlessly, the figure followed the order and took off its – or rather his – helmet and revealed a man's face. It was of angular shape and had a pale complexion, as if the face had not been touched by the sun, and had black hair that was shaved bald. "Senior Chief Petty Officer Spartan-092 of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Group." he said in a deep, baritone voice.

"You would have to forgive the Spartans for their secrecy and rather…reclusive nature." Anders explained in a slight angry tone. "Their…training made them in such a way."

"How so?" Panaka asked from Padmé's behind.

"I cannot divulge, Captain Panaka. It was one of my agreements with my mentor before I left...the program." revealed Ellen tensely.

Before anyone could ask further, Serina suddenly appeared in the middle of the table. "Sorry for interrupting. Captain, I've got a UNSC signal playing."

Perking up, Cutter stood up from his chair abruptly. "What did it say?"

"It was a rather weak one, I couldn't get what it was broadcasting nor could I trace where it was coming from." Serina revealed sadly, causing Anders to groan and Cutter to slump back on his chair.

"Is there any way you could edit it?" the scientist asked hopefully.

The holographic woman shook her head. "No, even with my upgrades I can't. The only reason I recognized it at all as UNSC was because of the signal's base code – and no, I can't even contact them as well. The  _ Spirit _ 's system isn't compatible with the signal for me to piggyback on for some reason."

Cutter looked downcast that Padmé felt sad for him – and she hated using it to her advantage.

Unknown to everyone else, Padmé was actually planning on asking the UNSC's help to defeat the Trade Federation. She doubted Valorum could force the senate to help Naboo – the only reason the Chancellor sent help was  _ after _ Padmé guilt-tripped him. That alone was enough for her to doubt the senate to help then in her time of crisis – and she desperately needed a back-up plan.

And she got one – in the form of this  _ UNSC Spirit of Fire.  _ Sure, they were a complete unknown to them, having little to no information about them besides having spacefaring capabilities, colonial rebellions, and a war against a multi-species alien group who want nothing but their extinction. Right now, here was an opportunity for her to get UNSC to help them – and she's having second doubts about it.

_ ‘No,’ _ the Queen thought, ’ _ this is for my people. I swore to help them and guide them. If it means paying the  _ Spirit _ by a thousand-fold, so be it.’ _

"I have an offer for you, Captain Cutter." began Padmé, making everyone look at her with confusion – even the emotionless Spartan looked at her with a small hint of curiosity. "The planet I am heading, Coruscant, has a wide range of satellites that are used to send messages and trace them. Given you wish to trace this signal, I could put in a word or two to the bureau that manages the network to help you trace the whereabouts of this signal."

"There's a catch." Cutter stated. The simple look on his face basically told Padmé that he knew where she was going.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Padmé face before disappearing quickly. "Captain Cutter, my planet is besieged by a greedy alien galactic corporation over some  _ petty  _ tax law. I would like to ask…no,  _ hire _ you to help me retake Naboo should my first plan fail."

Cutter's eyebrow rose. "What’s the first plan, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I would like to beseech the Galactic Senate to intervene in this matter but…" she trailed off.

"…but you have doubts they can do anything?" Cutter finished, catching her implication. "Why?"

Scoffing, Padmé replied "It took them a month to send in the Jedi – and that was only after I guilt-tripped the Chancellor to send them."

"Wow…I know UEG is kind of harsh but at least they send aid. This…Galactic Senate of yours…are they even a government?" asked Ellen incredulously. On her left, Padmé felt Qui-Gon fidget slightly as if he wanted to defend the government but couldn't.

Padmé shrugged. "Moving on, what do you say Captain?" she asked.

Cutter was silent before asking "What do we get in return?"

"I will personally accompany you in your search to return home. Should you find the location from where this signal is coming from, you can use my starship to go there. However," she paused, cringing for trying to lessen their hopes. "Should you not find it…then Naboo will welcome you with open arms."

Silence enveloped the room after she delivered those words. Internally, she was reprimanding herself for trying such a low blow at them. They were lost and with that signal they just got was their only hope of getting back to their home. And here she was, slightly dashing their hopes.

"Wait here. Ellen, Spartan, come with me." Cutter announced as he got up from his chair and left the room, the two following him outside shortly.

Once they were gone, Padmé visibly slackened and gave an audible sigh. At least they'll consider the proposal.

"That was too rash, Queen Amidala." Qui-Gon observed, startling the Queen from her thoughts.

"I concur as well with the Jedi." agreed Panaka, leaning on the table in front of her with his arms crossed out. "However, couldn't you just—"

"No!" cut Padmé immediately, knowing where this train of thought was heading to. "I will not fool them. They are lost and in need of our help. They don't trust us Panaka, you've seen how they're intimidating us. I would rather gain an ally by trust than by manipulation."

"So…you planned this out all along?" a voice in front of her asked.

Padmé immediately held her breath, immediately realizing that the AI was still with them. "I apologize for—"

"Pish-posh," Serina cut, waving her hand. "No need to apologize for planning ahead. You needed help and so do we, you just capitalized the chance."

Letting it go, the three started a conversation with Serina, mostly just to ask questions about UNSC and its culture. It was surprising that UNSC's humans were once confined to only one planet – Earth, as Serina called – and had a mixture of culture that it looked like their galaxy rolled into one planet. The multitude of cultures both helped and held the progression of these humans. Surprisingly, it took an interplanetary war just to fully unite these humans and propel them to a Tier Three tech level in a matter of few decades. Currently, Serina was lecturing them about government system of the United Earth Government when Cutter came back with good news.

They accept.

Upon hearing it, Padmé gave an unqueenly-like sigh of relief. Cutter explained to them that UNSC's main role is to defend Earth and her Colonies and by extension, humanity. Right now, the  _ Spirit _ saw that Naboo was technically a human-controlled planet, it fell under their jurisdiction to protect it.

"Thank you, Captain Cutter," Padmé replied. "I do, however, apologize for—"

"No need, Queen Amidala." cut Cutter, his elbows propped on the table. "You were just capitalizing the chance."

Sighing in defeat, Padmé replied "Very well then, shall we move on to other matters?"

"How should we call you?" Qui-Gon interjected. Getting confused looks, he explained "Majority of this galaxy's inhabitants are humans as well. Calling you Milky Way Humans would be quite long. What would you suggest?"

Cutter looked at the scientist at his left. "Ellen, what would you recommend?"

The scientist thought for a moment. "I would suggest Terran." she said slowly. "Terra is Latin for Earth. Since humanity came from Earth, I think it would be appropriate to call ourselves Terrans."

"That would make sense. We do call ourselves based on our home planet." said Panaka just as Padmé hear the door open. Looking behind her, she saw Colonel Luna bring in four chairs stacked on top of each other.

"Here you are sir, as requested." the colonel said as he laid them down and started separating them. Padmé, on the other hand, noticed only four chairs while there were five people standing. Bringing it up, Luna laughed. "Ma'am, Spartan armor weighs about 900 kilograms. Him sitting on this is like is like me sitting on a paper chair."

With that over, everyone sat down to continue the discussion. "Now, I know you are wondering why I sent for Colonel Luna." Cutter began. "As the overall commander of the Marines, I saw fit that he be the one to assign who should come on this ragtag mission. Colonel, who do you recommend?"

Luna scratched his chin when Ellen spoke first. "I would like to join this team, Captain. I'm pulling rank as an ONI Consultant."

Luna looked at the scientist from head to toe. "You ONI, prof?" he asked, getting a nod from her. "Figures." he said, shrugging. "Better her than someone wet behind the ears."

Padmé and the ones seated beside her looked at Serina for explanation. She had earlier mentioned that most UNSC Humans – or Terrans – liked to use a lot of words with a figurative meaning. Seeing the look, Serina explained "Someone with little to none experience."

Padmé saw Qui-Gon frown. "How could a scientist have experience?"

Luna looked at the Jedi with a humorous expression. "What, did 'ya expect her to be a geeky scientist who's stuck in a lab doing only experiments? It would be a complete waste of talent if she did that. I've read the report given to me during her time on the ground. She's more than capable than that, took down a couple of Elites and Grunts from what I've read."

Cutter then coughed, drawing the attention to him while Ellen blushed from the praise. "Well, compliments aside, Anders' in for this one. Who else would you add?"

"I'm suggesting a Spartan. He should go while the other two should stay. She's technically ONI personnel and needs to be protected." Luna explained. "Well, with two volunteers, I'm putting in two more soldiers although I not sure who should I put."

"Is it because of the xenophobia your men are experience?" Padmé asked. They knew of UNSC's apparent xenophobia but from what she heard, Padmé thought the hatred was much deeper than that.

Cutter and Luna nodded in reply. "Try fighting a war for five years straight against a highly advanced multi-alien group with only your will and determination." Luna asked rhetorically to his audience. "Our victories on the ground were balanced by the losses we suffered in space. We had to sacrifice a lot of good men and women just for a massive victory. Just like how we had to sacrifice my best man and our slipspace drive just to buy Earth more time to fight back."

Silence followed after Luna finished his sentence. Knowing her galaxy's history, Padmé thought the Mandalorian Wars were by far the most brutal fighting she has heard. And her she was, sitting in front of—

"You know, as much as I find this sad…it's annoying." Serina suddenly interjected in an amused tone, surprising everyone who failed to notice that the AI was still there.

Ellen glared at the AI. "You're a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" the scientist remarked sarcastically. "What do you want?"

Serina smiled naughtily. "I may have some perfect candidates…" she said cryptically as a holographic screen presented itself in front of them. "This was a few minutes after Colonel Luna left the hanger."

As everyone looked at the screen, Padmé could feel tension between her entourage and the UNSC soldiers as both were separated by a wide gap, with Major Singh and Obi-Wan in the middle trying to bridge things. Meanwhile, the Nubian entourage were near their ship, unsure how to interact with the Terrans.

What caught the Queen's eyes was Sabé. She was with R2 and looked like they were conversing with Serina. From her body language, Padmé knew Sabé was in a deep conversation with the Serina-lookalike along with R2.  _ ‘Well, at least she's following my order,’ _ Padmé thought.

The screen then focused onto two people wearing something similar to the Major. One was standing up and leaning on the wall while the other one was sitting on a couple of metal boxes.

"—ould I even go sarge?" said a gruff yet feminine voice, startling the three of them. The other, on the other hand, didn't seem phased and continued watching.

"ODST helmets have comms for personal contact." Luna explained once he saw the confused looks of Padmé before motioning them to be quiet.

"Look, she's a woman and you're a woman. You'll hit off pretty nicely. She's even talking to the AI and…that whistling…robo-thingymajig." a voice replied. The one sitting looked at the one standing and titled its head.

"Really, sarge, really…" the feminine voice drawled.

"What?" the one standing replied along with the appropriate hand gestures.

The woman shook her head. "Shouldn't you be the one doing this? I mean, you're the friendly one among us Helljumpers, remember?"

The man shrugged. "You're the outgoing one, Anya." he said, pointing at the seated woman. "Plus – I'm your boss, right?"

The woman looked at the sarge for a few seconds and then stood up. Sarge then gave a shooing motion at the woman, who promptly snatched his hand the started dragging him towards Sabé and R2. The screen then showed the entire hanger again and Padmé saw everyone was now looking at the two as they head towards Sabé. Obi-Wan looked like he wanted to do something but Singh prevented him, telling him some inaudible words which made the Jedi relax.

The view then switched to the view of Serina. Sabé (R2 was hidden from their view) looked at the coming figures and looked startled. A soft chuckle was heard and the screen moved from left to right repeatedly. "Don't worry," Serina said. "They only want to introduce themselves and talk to you. Look on the bright side, at least you're interacting with  _ real _ UNSC personnel like what your Queen asked you."

Panaka and Cutter gave Padmé a questioning look but she waved them off. Tuning back in, she saw Sabé biting her lips and nodded nervously as the two reached them. Anya gave a small wave at Sabé and then removed her helmet, revealing a young female face with short chestnut brown hair.

"Hi there, name's Lance Corporal Anya Reznov of the 50th ODST Battalion. Pleasure to meet you!" she greeted happily, offering her hand to the handmaiden.

Sabé slowly gave Anya a handshake and replied, "My name is Sabé, handmaiden of Queen Amidala."

Anya nodded slowly and looked like she wanted to ask more. Looking at her right, she gave ‘Sarge’ a hard nudge that obviously caused pain. "Ouch! What the hell was that for?" ‘Sarge’ asked, rubbing the bruised area

Sabé giggled while Anya gave Sarge a deadpanned look. "Go introduce yourself, Sarge!" Anya whispered-yelled angrily, "I didn't drag you here just for me to introduce myself!"

Sarge was silent before removing his helmet, revealing a lightly toned, grumpy face (that was glaring at Anya, who remained smug) with short jet black hair. Tucking his helmet under his left arm, he offered his right hand for a handshake. "Name's Sergeant Clive Lars, 50th ODST Battalion, Fireteam Charlie's leader." he said in a tender tone with a gentle, friendly smile.

The screen quickly shut off and everyone looked at Serina. "So what do you think of my suggestions?" she asked, a bright smile on her blueish face.

* * *

**Up Next:**

**_ACT 1 | Part 4: Fun in the Desert_ **

* * *

Character Visualization:

John Arcilla as Colonel Antonio Luna

Shahid Kapoor as Major Raj Singh

Keira Knightley as Sabé

Lily Collins as Doctor Abigail 'Abby' Alton

John Shepard (Mass Effect 3) as Senior Chief Petty Officer Spartan-092

Anya Stroud (Gears of War 3) as Lance Corporal Anya Reznov

Nathan Drake (Uncharted 4) as Sergeant Clive Lars


	4. ACT 1 | Part 4: Fun in the Desert Planet (September 2560 | 33 BBY)

_How did I get here in the first place again?’_ Sergeant Clive Lars thought as he stood in the cockpit of the descending vessel, admiring the view of the desert planet in front of him. ‘ _Oh yeah, it’s Anya’s fault!’_

He recalled that along with his 2IC, Lance Corporal Anya Reznov, he (or rather, Anya forced him to) started a conversation with the Nubian handmaid named Sabé. Both of them were just curious to whom these newcomers were…and Clive wanted Anya to interact with someone feminine. Seriously, the 50th ODST Battalion only had one girl – and that was Anya! His 2IC was already friends with nearly all the female marines onboard the _Spirit_ and started branching out to the crew members but because of the small men-to-women ratio they had, Clive could just count all her friends with two hands – and that was excluding the crew members - talk about gender equality.

Anyway, he and Anya soon found out about from Sabé the story of her planet: how one galactic corporation (run by aliens nonetheless) laid siege over Sabé's home planet over a single petty tax law. The two just stared at the Nubian as if she grew a second head as they _did not_ fully comprehend what she just told them before Anya threw a fit. Needless to say, the tension between the two groups disappeared and the Terrans – the term (as informed to them by Sights) used to differentiate the Milky Way Humans and… _‘Whatever the name of this galaxy humans.’_ Clive assumed wryly – warmed up to the visitors immediately.

The Nubians, on the other hand, were confused why UNSC still used projectile weaponry or 'slugthrowers' (as they call it). Apparently, the restof the galaxy (Clive still couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of a galaxy full of aliens _and_ humans) used laser weaponry (called blasters), considering slugthrowers to be weak. That thinking, however, quickly went out of the window the moment a Marine pointed out 'laser burn stuff, bullets can literally tear things apart – painfully', causing the Nubians to look at them with fear (he could still laugh at their expressions when they heard it). Other than that, the Nubians quickly understood the Terrans.

"A credit for your thoughts?" asked someone behind him, startling Clive. Turning around, he saw it was that mysterious and serious hippie-looking Qui-Gon Jinn. Aside from human-alien coexistence, there was this group of galactic knights called the Jedi Order. They had these weird yet cool telepathic powers like mind reading, levitation and whatnots (he and the others didn't believed it until Qui-Gon's apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi levitated a crate in the hanger of the _Spirit_ ). They were tasked to maintain the peace and order in this galaxy and were rumored (according to a Nubian engineer he talked with) to number about a million or so.

"Oh, you know…" Clive replied, gesturing everything around him. "How I was dragged into this mission."

Indeed, Clive was surprised that he was being asked to lead an escorting duty-slash-search mission (the only thing he did was start a conversation with a Nubian, for Christ's sake!). Now, he was on protection detail for their ONI consultant, with Lee and a Spartan as backup. Qui-Gon nodded, having been there for the briefing. "You seem confused and feeling out of place, may I ask why?"

Clive raised an eyebrow, wondering how Jedi Jinn figure out he was thinking. "You read my mind, Jedi Jinn?" he joked, using his nickname for the Jedi.

Qui-Gon chuckled – a rare occurrence coming from the stoic Jedi. "I wouldn't call it 'mind reading' per se. More like…'emotion reading'." he replied, a friendly smile flashing on his face.

The ODST sergeant snorted before looking at the cockpit's windows. "Yeah, you could say that. I mean, I'm literally out of place in this galaxy and I still can't fathom the idea of aliens and humans living together. No offense, but to me, 'the only good alien is a dead one' - have you seen Jar Jar?" he joked.

"None taken," Qui-Gon assured, before motioning the Helljumper to follow him. "I have compassion for all living things. I simply could not leave Jar Jar, a clumsy fellow, to face harsh punishment for his accidents."

Clive nodded in reply, having heard the Gungan's back story earlier. Even though Jar Jar Binks was an alien, one mustn't be punish simply for being clumsy. Snapping out of his thoughts, both of then stopped at the tech station and looked at Obi-Wan as he inspected this galaxy's version of a slip space drive. "The hyperdrive generator's gone master." the auburn-haired man said to them.

"Shame…" replied Clive as he started inspecting the generator. "Hey, you think we can keep it? We might learn a thing or two from it."

"Ask Captain Panaka first but I don't think he would mind," Obi-Wan answered, standing up and dusting his pants. "It's good for scraps already."

"That'll complicate things. Be wary…I sense a disturbance in the Force." warned Qui-Gon to his apprentice.

Obi-Wan nodded, looking grave. "I feel it also, Master."

Feeling out of place, Clive coughed. “The mysterious ‘universal power’ you have giving you warnings now?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Qui-Gon replied. 

"Jedi Jinn, consider that the second reason why I'm confused right now.”

**# # # # # # # # # #**

Thirty minutes later, Clive was walking the rocky path towards the settlement called Mos Espa alongside with Jar Jar, the drone-like AI R2-D2, and Qui-Gon. Suddenly, someone behind them shouted "Wait!"

Looking back, he saw Captain Panaka and a woman in rough garb walking towards them. Wondering why, Clive and the rest stopped for them to catch up. The moment they reached the group, Panaka continued "Wait, her highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you."

"No more commands from Her Highness today, Captain. This spaceport is not going to be pleasant." Qui-Gon coolly replied but seemed irritated. No surprise there for Clive, they were technically in unsure territory. The only reason Jar Jar was there because he had something called a 'life debt' to Qui-Gon and R2 was needed to check the hyperdrive they were planning to buy. Clive, on the other hand, was with them to represent UNSC and check out the place.

"I'm siding with Jedi Jinn here." Clive said. "If things go south, we won't be able to protect everyone."

However, Panaka didn't back down. "The Queen wishes it. She is curious about this planet." he pressed, a stern look on his face.

The two stared at each other until Qui-Gon sighed, eyeing the handmaiden. "This is not a good idea. Stay close to us." he ordered before walking away.

The ODST gave the two Nubians a look. Depolarizing his visor, he crossed his arms and asked "Padme, right?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, what is it Sergeant Lars?" she asked.

Unclipping his M6S, he handed it to the handmaiden. "High Penetration Rounds with muzzle suppressor, seven rounds. Use it wisely." She grabbed it but he didn't let go. "And stay close, that’s an order."

Pocketing it, Padmé and Clive caught up with Qui-Gon as they reached the settlement. Although they did pass some dangerous looking people (some purely aliens, others what suspiciously looked like human-alien hybrids), Clive noted majority of the place looked decent enough. He even chuckled as Padme looked around in awe, acting like a tourist on a sightseeing tour. To top it off, Jedi Jinn was giving a running commentary.

"...moisture farms for the most part. Some indigenous tribes and scavengers. The few spaceports like this one are havens for those who do not wish to be found..." he said, pointing out things occasionally. Padme seemed to have mumbled something when Jar Jar slightly panicked.

"Dissen berry, berry bad." the alien muttered before accidentally stepping on a gooey substance on the floor. "Ooooh...icky...icky...goo…"

Chuckling at the alien's antic, Clive carefully sidestepped the gooey substance and continued to follow the rag-tag group in front of him. After a few minutes of walking, they reached what looked like a plaza to Clive. It was surrounded by stores full of metal parts in front of them that – Clive assumed – were spare parts for ships.

"So…which do we check first?" asked Clive as the group stopped.

Qui-Gon looked about before deciding on a shop. "We'll try one of the smaller dealers," he said before heading towards what looked like a large sand igloo.

“I’ll watch your six then.” Clive replied as the rest entered the store. However, as he removed his helmet only to bump into someone, making her (he was sure it was a woman) stumble and drop whatever she was holding. Out of reflex, he grasped the person's shoulders to steady them. "Hey there, you alright? Terribly sorry for not…"

He trailed off, as the young woman looked at him in fear and confusion. ‘ _Her face…’_ Clive thought in shock. "J-Jasmine?" he stuttered, eyes wide open as he stared at her face.

The Jasmine-look alike looked surprised, tilting her head. "My name's not Jasmine," she answered, confused.

_‘Of course idiot, she's not Jasmine!’_ Clive mentally berated himself before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, scratching the back of his head. "You just…looked someone I used to know."

The lady giggled and nodded in understanding. "Well, for future reference," she said, offering her hand. "I'm Shmi, Shmi Skywalker."

Shaking her hand, Clive replied "Clive, Clive Lars."

The two then stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do next. Noticing Shmi’s package was still on the ground, Clive slowly gestured around them. "Uh…I think we should…um, pick these up."

Realizing what Clive was saying, Shmi blushed. "Yeah, I think we should."

The two crouched to gather the scattered things. Clive stole quick glance to Shmi, noting the slight similarities with Jasmine: Oval-like face, wavy hair, and hell, even her eyes were brown – just like Jasmine. If Clive was to take a guess, her age would be early 30s.

"Spare parts?" Clive asked to break the silence between them, inspecting what looked like a 20th Century Walkman.

"More or less. My son has…a knack for building stuff." she replied, getting the Walkman-lookalike from him and dropping it in the basket. "He even created a droid from scratch."

Clive gave her a surprised look. "Really?" he asked, thinking her kid probably built a robot like R2. Getting a nod, he whistled. "Damn…looks like you got a good kid, Shmi."

Shmi's cheek became rosy pink from his compliment. "Thank you," she replied quietly. Silence once again took over before Shmi nervously asked "If you don't mind…who's Jasmine?"

Clive dropped another part into the basket before answering her. "She…was wife." he confessed, staring at the distance. "Died at childbirth. Don't take this the wrong way but…she slightly looks like you."

Mouthing an 'O', Shmi gave Clive an understanding nod. Once everything was done and in the basket, the two stood up and nervously looked at each other. "So…" Clive drawled slowly, "I guess this is goodbye, then?"

Shmi gave a small smile and slowly nodded. "It was nice to meet you, Clive." she replied pleasantly. "Goodbye!"

"See you around then!" Clive blurted to Shmi as she started walking…towards wherever she was heading. Shmi looked back at him and giggled, making Clive mentally slap himself. _’Idiot, like you're going to see her again!’_ Clive thought as he putted his helmet.

He continued to stare at Shmi's retreating figure when a British voice spoke through his internal speakers. "Looks like someone has a crush..."

Rolling his eyes, he slapped the side of his helmet. "Shut up Abby," he muttered to his AI companion, glaring at his MC5 Individual Data Net/Terminal on his arm. It was a hand-held tactical device upgraded to hold an AI's data crystal for mobile cybernetic support. The only drawback was Abby (Serina's SMART AI clone chosen to accompany them) could only communicate through TEAMCOM, and since it only had a short range, Clive was the only person Abby could talk to – much to her delight and his annoyance.

"Yes, yes you do." Abby lectured to Clive. "Your heartbeat has hasten when you two were talking, voice pattern suggest that you were nervous, and—"

Clive shut the internal speakers of his helmet and took it off the moment he saw Qui-Gon and R2 exited the huge sand igloo. Making his way towards them, he asked "You found what we needed?"

The Jedi nodded with a frown on his face – then again, there was always a frown on his face whenever Clive looked at him. "Yes but he won't accept our money." he replied as Padmé and Jar Jar joined them. "Let's look elsewhere."

**# # # # # # # # # #**

"Well…that sucks," Clive complained as they left the last junk shop in Mos Espa, his helmet under his arm. He had taken it off as it was hot and Abby was bugging him to wits end about anything. Turns out, only Watto the Toydarian (the alien owner of the first shop they visited) was the only junk dealer who sold the hyperdrive they needed. _‘Great, aliens have one upped humanity again_ ,’ Clive thought with a frown.

Padmé nodded in agreement as the Jedi finished their conversation via his comlink. "I'm sure another solution will present itself. I'll check back later." the Jedi replied before putting it away. Apparently, nothing on board was sufficient enough to pay for the amount this Watto dude was asking for.

Before they could move, Jar Jar grabbed Qui-Gon's arm. "Noah gain...noah gain da beings hereabouts cawazy. Wesa be robbed un crunched!"

Clive snorted (he only got the gist of the message as he still did not fully understand what he called 'Jar Jar Speak') while Qui-Gon ignored the rambling. "Not likely. We have nothing of value…that's our problem," he announced before walking away. With nothing else to do, the rest followed the Jedi.

Minutes later, Clive felt something wrong and gripped his MA5B strapped to his back. "Stop," he ordered. Qui-Gon looked at him but then saw something. Following his gaze, Clive finally understood why he felt something wrong: Jar Jar was near a store, being assaulted by a…well, Clive wasn't sure what to call the alien. It was about the height of a grunt, as fat as a jackal, and was on its hands.

"Jar Jar, you pain in the ass," Clive muttered as they rushed to help their companion…although a teenager stepped in and stopped things from escalating. _'Man, that kid's tough.'_ Clive thought, impressed at how the kid convinced the alien from starting a fight.

"Hey!" the boy greeted with a sly grin as they made their way to Jar Jar. “Still haven’t found a hypredrive, I take it?”

"Indeed," Qui-Gon replied as he helped Jar Jar stand up.

"Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo." he recounted, snorting. "Picked a fight with Sebulba, one of the few dangerous one in Mos Espa."

"Mesa haten crunchen. Dat's da last ting mesa wanten!" Jar Jar countered, Clive rolling his eyes at Gungan’s idioticness.

"Nevertheless, the boy is right. You were heading for trouble. Thanks, my young friend." Qui-Gon praised the boy. The boy smiled at them (although Clive noticed it was directed more to Padmé, who was surprisingly smiling back).

"But...but...mesa doen nutteen!" Jar Jar exclaimed.

Sighing, Clive rolled his eyes and lightly shoved Jar Jar towards the direction the rest of them went. "Shut up and keep moving Jarhead!"

Catching up with the rest, Clive strayed near the boy as he was slightly intrigued by him. "Hey kid, what's your name?" he asked.

"Name's Anakin," he replied, grinning at him. "You a pilot?"

"Err...not really, why?"

Anakin shrugged. "Well, you're wearing something like a jumpsuit some of the pilots around here wear. Plus, you have a helmet with you." he pointed out.

Clive nodded. "Nice observation kid, but I'm a soldier. See the gun behind me? That's what makes me different from pilots." he replied, pointing towards the MA5B strapped on his back.

"Oh…but can you still pilot things?" he asked hopefully, although why Clive did not know.

"Hmmm…you could say that," Clive answered, thinking that riding the trademark ODST Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle was technically – TECHNICALLY – piloting a plane. "Why'd you ask?"

"I listen to all the traders and starpilots that come by here – and you look just like them so I thought you were one." Anakin explained.

Clive nodded before Anakin suddenly dragged Qui-Gon to what looked like a fruit stand owned by an old lady. "Here, you'll like these pallies...here." said Anakin as he handed each one of them a…whatever it was that he bought for them.

Suddenly, Clive felt the winds around them picking up speed. He saw majority of the people started packing up there stuff and heading inside other buildings, all of them rushing about. "Oh, my bones are aching...storm's coming up, Annie. You'd better get home quick." the old lady said to their guide.

"Sandstorm's coming, ma'am?" Clive guessed.

The old lady nodded and started packing her stuff. "You have any shelter?" Anakin asked, looking worried.

Qui-Gon nodded. "We'll head back to our ship."

"Is it far?"

"It's on the outskirts," Padmé informed him.

Anakin shook his head. "You'll never make it in time – staying here would be better."

Clive looked at Qui-Gon and sighed. "Boy's probably right. I can reach the ship on my own with my helmet here…but with you guys, I'll rather stay put."

Anakin, on the other hand, didn't wait for their answer and grabbed Padmé's hand, forcing the other four to follow them. Moments later, as the winds picked up speed, they reached what looked like a townhome-styled area. Upon entering one of them, Anakin shouted "Mom, I'm home! Oh, I offered shelter to some spacers!"

Clive, who was looking about the cozy home, turned around and said "Sorry for intruding…"

However, he trailed off as he was surprised to see Shmi was standing in front of them, a rag in hand. "Clive," she said, startled. "What are you doing here?"

All of a sudden, all eyes were on Clive. "I...uh," he paused, turning to the kid. "Ask Anakin."

Shmi shifted her gaze from Clive to Anakin, giving him the trademark 'what-did-you-do-this-time' mother look. "Some strangers needed help, Mom." he answered, looking sheepish.

Clive stifled a laugh. Suddenly, Anakin looked at him suspiciously. "Hey...how'd you know Mom?"

"We bumped into each other," Shmi offered, smiling at her son and saving Clive from explaining how they met. Accepting it, Anakin then turned to Padmé and offered to show her his droid (apparently, Shmi wasn't kidding on the droid thing) before dragging her towards his room.

"Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter," Qui-Gon explained to Shmi as Clive made his way towards them.

"He dragged Padmé here, remember?" he said to Qui-Gon before looking at Shmi. "So…we meet again huh," he said, embarrased.

She giggled. "It seems so, Clive." she replied before looking back at Qui-Gon. "Would you like some food?"

"If that is alright with you," Clive said while Qui-Gon gave her something that looked like pills.

"I brought additional food pellets…"

**# # # # # # # # # #**

Few minutes later, they were eating: Clive was beside Shmi on one side, Anakin and Jar Jar on another, and Padmé and Qui-Gon opposite of each other. Being a gentleman he was, Clive had helped in setting up the dishes as Shmi cooked. Hell, even Jar Jar helped in cooking (Clive would have helped also but since he wasn't part of their galaxy, might as well watch from afar). Currently, Shmi was refilling their cups as they ate porridge-like food (a least to Clive).

"Are you a slave too, Shmi?" Padmé then asked.

Had he not been chewing something, Clive would have just given her a funny look. Sadly, Clive _was_ chewing on something and the moment he heard her question, he started choking on it. "What kind of question is that?" he asked Padmé (once he could speak again), giving her a bewildered look. Having thought about it, Clive was certain for an advance society, slavery was pro—

"I am," Shmi answered.

That...was unexpected.

"Y-your jo-joking, right?" he stuttered, turning his head to Shmi and waiting for her to say 'NOT'.

Sadly, she shook her head. "We slaves even have transmitters placed inside our bodies somewhere. Any attempt to escape…"

"...and they blow you up." Anakin finished with a grim smile, mimicking an explosion with his hands. “Boom!”

Clive stared at the two, unsure what to do. "Are you kidding me?" he muttered before looking at Qui-Gon. "Jedi Jinn, you guys have got to have some laws here!"

Padmé, sadly, did not eased his nerves. "I even can't believe there is still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws—"

"The Republic doesn't exist out here...we must survive on our own." cut Shmi in a sorrowful tone. The tense feeling, however, was broken when Jar Jar snatched some food using his tongue. Qui-Gon and Padmé both gave the Gungan a dirty look and Clive, wanting to vent his anger, looked at Jar Jar straight in the eye.

"Do that again," he dared, bring out a standard-issue Bowie knife that was strapped to his thigh, "and you're going to be one head shorter."

Inwardly, Clive was smirking as Jar Jar started looking at him in fear (he was, after all, twirling the knife). Noticing everyone was staring at him, he shrugged. "What? I was angry."

"But…but to threaten Jar Jar?" Padmé asked, looking half-scared.

Clive glared at her. "Lady, I just found out your so-called 'highly advance galaxy' can't even stop slavery. You wanna know something: from the galaxy I come from, we started stamping out slavery even before we had space-faring capabilities and we finally destroyed it during the early days of our space colonization era. Sure, you can have anti-slavery laws but if you want it to stay in effect, you're going to have to force it to go into effect. And the mere fact that your government can't put the laws into effect speaks volumes."

Sighing, Clive ran his hands over his face. He really wanted to jab Qui-Gon as well but if was too pissed off to care– "Wait a minute...what do you mean 'from the galaxy where I come from'?" Anaking cut in.

_'Shit,'_ Clive cursed. No one was supposed to know their extra-galactic origin. "Ah…you see, um…" Clive began, his mind racing to find an excuse. Sadly, fate seemed to be against him.

"Just go tell them where we come from already!" Abby blurted, suddenly appearing on the table and scaring the Skywalkers. "You already slipped once and the kid over here," she pointed towards Anakin (who was now looking at her with suspicion and slight awe), "is way too good for his age."

Sighing, Clive looked at Shmi and relunctanly explained the situation (with Qui-Gon and Padmé backing him up). "Whoa…so slavery is really gone in your place! How did you guys do it?" Anakin asked, looking awed at his story. “Wizard!”

"With blood, sweat, and tears kid." Clive replied. "A lot of hu—err Terrans, gave their lives just to ensure slavery ends. It was never fun and games, kid."

Anakin had a decency to look sheepish. “Sorry…” he replied. “But still...damn, must be nice to no longer fear slavery.”

"Well, with that out of the way, I'm going!" Abby stated before disappearing from view.

"Is...is she always like that?" Shmi asked, her lips pursed.

Clive shrugged. "AIs are fickle things, honestly."

"Hey, that means you don't know what Podracing is!" Anakin exclaimed, looking excited.

"They have Podracing on Malastare. Very fast, yet very dangerous." Qui-Gon said, apparently knowing more about this Podracing.

"Well...I’m the only who can podrace in this town!"

"You must have Jedi reflexes if you race Pods."

"You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?" Anakin guessed, making Clive almost choke on his food again (keyword almost) and Padmé giving Qui-Gon a look.

The table once again became quiet. "What makes you think that?" Qui-Gon countered, an eyebrow raised.

"Well..." Anakin drawled, leaning forward. "Only Jedi are allowed to have lightsabers and since you have one – simple deduction."

"Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him." Qui-Gon deflected, looking impassive.

Anakin just gave him a look. "And the hand waving thing back at the store?"

Padmé snorted, meaning she knew what was that was about. "I can see there's no fooling you," Qui-Gon praised. "We're on our way to Coruscant with an important mission."

"How did you end up here?" Anakin asked. "Outer Rim's pretty far from the Core."

"Our ship was damaged on our way to the Core, we're stranded here until we can repair it." Padmé answered, only to get a brighten expression from him.

"What exactly are the damages?” he asked, leaning forward. “May be I can fix it – probably just need some spare parts."

“Nah, the whole thing is fried.” Clive answered, shaking his head.

"These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind." Padmé sighed, making Anakin and Shmi look thoughtful.

"Gambling." Shmi suggested. "Everything here revolves around betting on those awful races."

"Podracing..." Qui-Gon mused. "Greed can be a powerful ally…"

Anakin lit up like a light bulb. "Well then, you’re in luck! There's a big race two days from now, on Boonta Eve." Anakin exclaimed, leaning back in a smug manner. "I got a podracer but I just need someone to sponsor me in. If you could enter my pod..."

"Anakin! It's dangerous!" Shmi reprimanded, looking shocked. "Watto won't let you—"

"Watto doesn't know I've built it," Anakin cut before turning to Qui-Gon. "Make him think it's yours and get him to let me pilot it for you. It’s a win-win for both of us!"

As Qui-Gon looked at Shmi, Clive looked at the boy. "Kid, if your mother says it's dangerous, it's dangerous."

"Like I said earlier, I’m the only human who can podrace!" he replied, sounding a bit arrogant but Clive knew the kid wasn't lying. "Besides, it’s the only way you can get the creds to buy the hyperdrive!"

"Anakin!" Shmi scolded.

"Your mother's right." Qui-Gon added, before looking at Shmi. "Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who might help us?"

Shmi shook her head. "If there were, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Mom..." Anakin pleaded. "You said the biggest problem in the universe is nobody helps each other."

Clive stared at the teenager. _'Damn kid,'_ he thought, _'you're smarter than I thought you'd be.'_

"I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger." Padmé assured, trying to pacify things. "We'll find some other way."

Shmi shook her head. "No, there's no other way. I may not like it, but...he can help you, like he was meant to help you."

**# # # # # # # # # #**

As Anakin led the others to inform Watto (who was also the owner of the Skywalkers as well), Clive elected to stay behind and help Shmi with the dishes. They stood there silently, Clive washing the dishes and Shmi drying them. "What's it like?" Shmi asked, confusing Clive as she looked at him. "I mean, where you came from?".

"Oh…um," Clive began. "Depends: the galaxy or the planets?"

Shmi thought for a while. "Planets." she decided. "If it's alright with you, specifically your home planet."

Clive smirked. "Then you're in luck, I happen to live in the homeworld of the Terrans."

Wiping his hands, Clive leaned on the counter. "Earth…probably the most beautiful planet I've been too. I mean, Arcadia and Harvest seem pretty decent but Earth will…well, will always be Earth! Even though it has been scared by multiple wars our ancestors started, it always found ways to rebound. If I remember history correctly, we nearly killed our planet around the 21st Century.

"Anyway, it was mostly covered by water, earning the nickname of 'the blue planet' because when seen in space, it was mostly blue than green. If you were to go to the northern and southern most part, it will be covered in ice. Go to the middle portion and you get a desert-like area. However, if you visit the areas slightly above or below the middle, you get white sandy beaches, lush green forest, and grassy fields you can run about." he said, chuckling.

Shmi giggled. "What was it like living in your galaxy?"

Folding his arms, Clive frowned. "I'm not entirely sure. I mean, I grew up in a pretty stable life. My parents owned the largest shipping fleet in UEG and pretty much earned a lot of money from that. I had a sheltered life actually but…I really wanted to rebel. I wanted to make my own road and not take the inheritance that my parents wanted to give me."

He chuckled. "Opportunity presented itself to me after I graduated college. The rebellion in our outer colonies – Earth, by then, had around 800 colonized planets – gave me a chance to leave what I would consider a pretty mundane life. Signed up for the Marine Corp to help stomp the rebels in our colonies. Back then, I was a firm believer that Earth should control all its colonies but once I saw the reality of the colonies, I changed my mind immediately. It was around that time I met Jasmine – you know, the girl I mistook you for – during my early years in the Corp. She was Navy and I was in the Corp and after a few campaigns, we got married and had a son. Sadly, she died at childbirth." he recounted, sighing. "I sent my son back to my parents for safe keeping – Jasmine gave birth in a warzone and I couldn't care for him there. It got me thinking now, how is Owen?'

"Owen...your son?"

"Yup – my pride and joy..." Clive replied, remembering his son’s cute face. "I wanted to name him John but Jasmine wanted the name Owen badly – never knew why. Even though I never got to see him, I always sent back video messages and letters for him to keep…if, you know, I die in combat. My parents would always reply as well, keeping me updated on his life. If I think about it, he's probably Anakin's age when I last contacted my parents."

Shmi nodded and they just stood there in silence. "So, what's your story?" Clive asked out of the blue before realizing what he just said. _'What to fuck, man!'_ he exclaimed mentally, _'what was that for?'_

Looking at her, he blurted "I mean, I accidentally went from describing Earth to my life story and well, I just got curious about you and Anakin and how—"

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Shmi looked at him and giggled. "It's alright."

"Sorry about that," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "I ramble when I'm nervous."

Laughing, Shmi made her way to the dining table and sat on one of the chairs, Clive following suit. "Now, where do I begin," Shmi began, looking thoughtful before launching her story.

Clive listened intently to her life story – her birth 34 years ago, how she was captured by pirates at a young age, how she learned technical skills from one Pi-Lippa, and more – but was mostly staring at her face. He still couldn't help but see the resemblance between her and Jasmine (even though they were just slightly similar): the lightly-toned skin, her wavy chestnut brown hair, the eyes, her sweet laughter, and the way she smiled. It was almost – ALMOST – like seeing Jasmine all over again.

Shmi seemed to have noticed Clive's stare at her, making her stop and blush. "Um…Clive, are you still listening?"

Startled, Clive stammered "Uh, wha…yeah! I, um, just remembered something."

"Was it Jasmine?" she guessed. Clive nodded, feeling sheepish. "Thought so…what was she like? I mean, I just got curious and all!" Shmi added in a hurried manner.

"Well…" Clive began, thinking back to what his late wife was like. "She was…kind, polite, and probably had the largest swear word vocabulary in the Navy – I swear!" he exclaimed when Shmi gave him an odd look. "No kidding – she could be a sailor's mouth _anytime_. She was also pretty damn good with computers – she could fix any device on the fritz. She hated, for some reason, porridge. Don't know why, though."

Clive was about to add how she hated cats with a passion when Anakin walked into them, coming back from convincing that Watto dude. "Hey kid, how did it go?" he asked as Qui-Gon and the rest entered.

"He accepted it!" he cheered, grinning like a mad man before looking at the other. "Wanna see the podracer? Come on, it’s just outside!"

**# # # # # # # # # #**

The day started out pretty fine as Anakin took his podracer for a test drive in a nearby canyon outside the settlement with all six of them in attendance (R2 and C3PO decided to remain back at the hovel). Throughout the entire test drive, Clive and Shmi started to get to know more about each other to the point that they seemed like childhood friends all these years. By the time they got home, Clive and Shmi knew each other's backstory down to the detail. Unfortunately, when night came Clive could not sleep. 

It wasn't because he was sleeping on the floor – he slept in worse places – no, he got news that Queen Amidala was kidnapped, 92 was in pursuit of the kidnappers, and hasn't replied yet because of the daily sandstorm Mos Espa experience, he was both annoyed and afraid - so much for doing his job. Thinking of getting some fresh air will clear his mind, he got up (leaving his helmet behind) and went outside. However, turns out he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

Opening the door, Clive saw Shmi sitting on the balcony railing outside the house. "Oh, you're awake," she said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep as well." Clive confessed as mounted the railing. They sat there, enjoying each other's company. Giving Shmi a quick glance, Clive noticed something bugging her. "Credit for your thoughts?"

"Huh?" she replied, giving him a questioning look.

"You seemed…off – you know, as if you can't focus on something."

She sighed and was quiet for a few minutes before looking at him. "I just overheard Qui-Gon talked about…how Anakin has over 20,000 midichlorian count. What does that mean?"

Clive bobbed his shoulders. "I really don't know. I'm just new to this place." he confessed, "however, what _I_ do know is that midichlorians are tiny lifeforms that live in our cells. It's through these midichlorians – according to Jedi Jinn, of course – that the Jedi can have their weird ass powers. Ya know, lifting objects without touching them, reading our emotions, etc."

Shmi digested the information and the two lapsed into comfortable silence again. "So…does that mean my son can…do those stuff?" Shmi asked, sounding scared.

Clive pursed his lips, understanding why Shmi. "Probably," acknowledged Clive. "I'll ask Jedi Jinn about it tomorrow."

The two again lapsed into silence…before an angry sigh interrupted it. "Who was that?" Shmi asked, looking around her.

Clive groaned, knowing _exactly_ who it was. "My AI companion," he grumbled before showing Shmi his TACPAD. Pressing a button, Abby appeared. "What do you want Abby?" he snarled.

Ignoring Clive, Abby turned to Shmi and greeted her. "Hi there! I'm Abby, caveman's AI companion. And you must be Shmi Skywalker," she said in a sweet tone, flashing a cheerful smile. "It's finally nice to put a face to the name – and the face is _quite_ beautiful as well! And here I was thinking Clive here was exaggerating when he described you!" she exclaimed before turning back to him, giving him small wink. "You clearly tried to downplay her beauty, mister." 

Clive just stared at Abby as if she gone mad. Currently, Abby was telling Shmi – well, whatever Abby was telling Shmi, they were lies. "Well then," she exclaimed happily (a bit _too_ happy) as she finished whatever she was telling Shmi. "I best be going now. I'll leave you two lovebirds to your own devices. Bye!" 

With that, she disappeared and left the two alone. The two just stared at the TACPAD for a few seconds before looking into each other's eye. "What…what was that about?" Shmi asked Clive, a confused look on her face.

Clive stared back at her. "I…I really don't know." he answered before giving Shmi an awkward glance. She just sat there, lost in thought and a troubled look on her face. They just sat there in awkward silence, unsure what they should do next.

Shmi coughed, breaking the tension between them. "Uh…ah," she stammered. "Was…um, that true?"

At first, Clive didn't understand what she was asking when it hit him – Shmi was asking if beautiful. Freezing, Clive mentally tried to calm his nerves as he wasn't sure what to say. The entire situation was like trying to defuse a HAVOK Tactical Nuke with a timer – clip the wrong wire and it blows up in your face. Thinking that he didn't understand what she asked, Shmi quickly clarified "What I mean to say is—"

"No!" Clive blurted out before realizing it was wrong. "I mean, yes—I mean…argh!"

Groaning, Clive paused to breathe slowly. "What I mean to say is…not everything Abby said was true." he explained slowly, thinking of the right words to say. "I…haven't really…described you to Abby. She…knows about you since…well, she listening to us right now." he said to her, gesturing to his TACPAD.

As if proving his point, the TACPAD squeaked "Am not!"

Shmi giggled as Clive rolled his eyes, placing the TACPAD on the railing. "Proves my point. Anyway…um, yeah, that part was a complete lie – but the part you're quite beautiful is true!" he said hurriedly, adding the last part in case she got the wrong idea.

"Oh…um, thank you." Shmi replied, blushing.

"Yeah…" Clive said, feeling awkward. They continued sitting there, either looking at the sky or ground. Not long after, Shmi got down from the railing and dusted her pants.

"I'm going back inside now," she told him and Clive gave a quick nod. Suddenly, without him realizing it, Shmi gave a light kiss on his cheek before bolting towards inside her house, leaving him all alone outside.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked to no one in particular.

**# # # # # # # # # #**

"Ye had little faith!" Clive exclaimed to Padmé as they surrounded Anakin in the nearly deserted hanger of the Boonta Eve Arena, much to her annoyance and everyone's laughter. The handmaiden doubted Anakin could win the race after Kitster (Anakin's friend) accidentally slipped that the teen podracer hadn't even finished a single race. 

However, the kid proved her wrong when he finished the deadly race. Throughout the event, podracers slowly depleted because of crashes, engine failure, dirty tactics, and even a surprise raider attack - but Anakin, ever the daredevil, flew past everything without a scratch and pulled off two crazy stunts – one when he ended up flying when Sebulba pushed him off course and the other when one of his engines failed in the last leg of the race.

"It's so wonderful, Ani." Shmi said, giving her son a kiss on the cheek. Throughout the entire race, Shmi would always gasp whenever something bad happened to her son and hugged the closest person near her – who happened to be Clive. Not that he minded but…it was awkward to say the least. They hadn't really had the chance to talk about what happened last night (everyone noticed that there was tension between the two but nobody asked – for which Clive was thankful for). They avoided each other like a plague but they always ended up interacting in one way or another. "You have brought hope to those who have none. I'm so very proud of you!"

"Great job, Ani!" Jar Jar said in his squeaky voice as he hugged him.

Once down, Padmé hugged him as well. "We owe you everything, Ani." she thanked him in a sincere tone, getting a blush from the teen.

"Say it! Say it! Say it!" Clive shouted bedore the handmaiden could leave.

"…and I am sorry for doubting you." Padmé added, glaring at the ODST. “Happy?”

"Very much! That'll show you never to doubt this fine young lad would lose!" the Terran admitted as he placed the kid in a headlock. "Well young man, you won the race but you're still dirty! Hey, where's Jedi Jinn?"

"I'm here," a voice said behind them. Looking back, he saw Qui-Gon walking towards them, a small smile on his face. "Congratulations again, Anakin."

"Speak of the devil!" muttered Clive, shaking his head as the Jedi ruffled the kids hair as well. "Oi, Jedi Jinn! What now?"

"Watto will send out the parts and we'll meet up with it as we head back to the ship." he explained.

"And what about the bet earlier?" Clive whipered, eyes narrowed at Qui-Gon. 

Just before the race even started, Qui-Gon tried to bet the freedom of the Skywalkers. Unfortunately, Watto wouldn't have any of that as it wasn't worth it – it was either Anakin or Shmi. Leaving it to fate, Watto used a chance cube on who will be freed if Anakin won the race. Having no choice, Qui-Gon had to use the force to put the outcome in his favor. When asked why after Watto left, Qui-Gon told Clive that Anakin had the potential to be a Jedi Knight as his midichlorian count was the highest in any Jedi – making him the most power Jedi should he become one.

"I've won." the Jedi replied in an evasive tone. Although Clive didn't understand why Qui-Gon wanted Anakin badly, he let it slide. Now was not the time to discuss religious practices and Clive had a job to do. All he could do now was just sit in the background and watch the events unfold.

"Won what?" Shmi asked, looking at him and Qui-Gon curiously.

"He and I had a tiny bet." he lied smoothly, Clive leaving it to Qui-Gon to tell Shmi what he did. He was the one who betted it after all.

Shmi nodded and Qui-Gon gave him a quick flash of gratitude. "Well then, I'll head back to the house then Ani." she told her son before heading out of the hanger.

"I'll go as well!" Clive added quickly. He really wanted to talk to Shmi about last night. Not that he minded it but he just wanted to clarify a lot of things as well. "See you later!"

Shmi stiffed when he caught up with her as they left the hanger but didn't comment. They walked in awkward silence all the way to Shmi's house, no one wanting to talk about what had happened last night. However, once they reached the house, Watto was waiting for them outside of it. Upon seeing them, Watto immediately made a beeline to Shmi and started talking to her in a weird language. The Toydarian seemed to looked apologetic and Shmi seemed confused before nodding, looking grateful. Watto seemed relieved and said other words before leaving. To his suprise, Shmi hugged him. "Thank you."

"Uh…what for?" Clive asked, confused. "I don't remember helping any alien earlier besides Jar Jar."

Shmi chuckled, giving him a small smile. "For freeing Anakin. Watto told me about the bet Qui-Gon made with him. He was against the Jedi from taking my son away from me."

Clive blinked as they entered the house. "Wait, are you telling me that frog face there was trying to prevent Qui-Gon from taking your son?" he asked, dumbfound, getting a nod. "Damn…never thought that I'll live to see the day an alien puts the well-being of a human first before his."

Both of them shared a short laugh before awkwardness settled between them. "Uh…about last night…" Clive began, his hand scratching his head.

Shmi coughed, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "S-sorry about that…don't know why it happened…" she stammered, last part being a whisper.

Clive nodded before excusing himself to get his helmet and other stuff he left. _Well,_ Clive thought wryly, _that went well._ After getting his stuff, Clive noticed that Shmi was still outside, waiting for him.

"Watto asked me to accompany him towards your starship. Wants me to help him deliver the good but privately, he wants me to have one last moment with Anakin." Shmi explained, noticing Clive's confused looked.

"Oh," was all Clive said as they started walking towards the outskirts of Mos Espa. "Hey, do you want Anakin to leave? I'm just asking and all!"

Giggling, Shmi stopped for a moment as if to contemplating on his words. "Honestly…yes." she said, voice thick with emotion.

“Hey, hey, it's okay…” Clive replied, hugging her as Shmi begam to cry freely. 

"I'm…I'm sorry about—" Shmi began as she wiped her tears away but Clive shushed her.

"Don't worry, I offered, remember?" Clive said with a cheeky grin. "Come on, the ship's just about there and you can say goodbye to your kid."

“Thank you,” Shmi said quietly as they began walking out of the settlement. “It's just…”

“You don't want to your son to leave but at the same time, you want what's best for him.” Clive finished. 

Shmi nodded, not saying anything. “Anakin…Anakin doesn't belong here on Tatooine.” she said a second later, “He's meant for great things - things he wouldn't achieve here in this backwater planet.”

“Well…he is coming with us.” Clive began, stopping briefly to look at the lady besides him. “Qui-Gon actually wanted to-”

“Clive, can you promise me something?” Shmi suddenly cut, looking serious. “Please look after my son.”

Although caught off guard, Clive gave her a grin. “I think that's a given already, don't you think?” he replied, having already decided to offer to help Anakin to calm Shmi’s nerves. Before Shmi could respond, a shout drew Clive away from the lady towards his fellow ODST Private Seo-Jun Lee as they neared the Nubian craft. 

To his surprise, near the ship's ramp was a M247 General Purpose Machine Gun mounted and positioned in front of the makeshift barricade near the ramp. Nubian personnel and (to his shock) two handmaidens wielding weapons were walking around as they patrolled the area.

"You guys expecting an assault?" Clive joked as Lee ran forward to meet them. The Korean stopped in front of them and removed his helmet, revealing a face reminisce of past K-Pop stars and buzz cut hair.

"Unfortunately, yeah." Lee said with a hint of accent. "After what happened yesterday, Captain Panaka wasn't taking any chances. Plus, the Spartan hasn't contacted us yet. Who's the lady?"

"Shmi, meet Private Seo-Jun Lee." the sergeant introduced to Shmi. "Lee, meet Shmi Skywalker. Her son’s the one who helped us get the hyperdrive for the ship so be nice."

Lee chuckled before offering his hand. "Nice to meet you ma'am." he said as Shmi shook his hand. The three of them resumed walking as Seo gave a full report on what had happened yesterday.

"Everything was fine around…1400 hours when we started hearing shouting outside the ship. I was with 92 and the Jedi when an alien came running up the ship's ramp. Thinking quickly, I shot it and the other two immediately ran outside, as the queen was inspecting the outside. I followed quickly after informing Dr. Anders and the captain of the situation. By the time I got out, three Nubians were wounded and majority of the aliens were dead, thanks to the Spartan's efforts." Seo informed as they reached the ramp, just as Captain Panaka walked down from it. "However, one of the aliens manage to capture Queen Amidala and left before any of us could stop them. Upon seeing the departure of the alien convoy, 92 called me before running after the convoy."

Clive looked to Panaka for confirmation, getting a nod from the Nubian Captain. "I do hope your Spartan manage to rescue the Queen, Sergeant Lars. Naboo is banking on her to free our planet." he said, sounding serious before looking behind him. "Where are the others?"

"They'll be here in a few minutes." Clive replied as he looked at his watch. "Don't worry Panaka, Spartans never a fail a mission."

Panaka looked like he wanted to say a few more things but couldn't when Anakin’s's voice shouted "Mom, I'm being freed by Watto!"

Clive turned backed and saw Anakin running towards his mom with a big smile on his face. Farther back, two camel-like creatures were dragging what looked like an engine and other supplies. In front of the creatures were Qui-Gon, Padme, Jar Jar, Anakin's C-3PO, and Watto, who seemed to be talking to the Jedi about something.

"Has the Queen returned yet?" Padmé asked, worry in her face once the entourage stopped in front of them.

Panaka shook his head. "Sergeant Lars, however, has said that the Spartan never fails a mission so be rest assured the Queen is safe."

Padmé nodded before looking back at Clive. "I forgot," she said, pulling out his sidearm. "I believe I am no longer need your weapon, sergeant."

Waving it off, Clive shrugged. "Eh, well…one can never be too sure. Who knows—"

However, a loud explosion cut off what Clive wanted to say. By pure instinct, Clive immediately dove for cover, taking Shmi and Anakin down with him near a massive rock near the ramp. Lee, on the other hand, pushed Panaka and Padmé down the floor before manning the M247 and started firing towards the dunes, just as Clive started hearing someone firing at them. Peeking over his cover, Clive saw at least two dozen robocops heading towards the ship, raining laser bolts at them. Grabbing his MA5B, he started shooting the robots just as the rest of the patrols around the ship fought back. Just then, a large rock hurled towards Qui-Gon, who was defending the hyperdrive from the lasers of the robots. Forced to abandon it, Qui-Gon jumped aside as Clive saw the rock crush the hyperdrive. Turning towards where the object came from, Clive almost dropped his weapon as he saw who had caused the object to destroy the hyperdrive.

It was a devil.

* * *

**Up Next:**

**_ACT 1 | Part 5: A Spartan Perspective_ **

* * *

Character Visualization:

Jar Jar Binks (Episode 1) as Jar Jar Binks

Elena Fisher (Uncharted) as Shmi Skywalker

Watto (Episode 1) as Watto

Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker

Seo Dae-young (Descendants of the Sun) as Private Seo-Jun Lee


End file.
